Magnetic
by Down By The River
Summary: Some things will always find each other, no matter how much you try to keep them apart. AU
1. Introduction

So, I guess I'm going to be one of those people who works on more than one story at once now.

The idea for this story popped into my head a few days ago and just wouldn't go away until I started to write it. It's very different to _Hazard_, but don't let the introduction put you off, it's really not as off the wall as it seems. I urge you to stick with it, because it will probably make a lot more sense to you at the end of the next chapter if it doesn't immediately.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee or any of its characters. All rights go to their respective owners. _  
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><p><em>Some things are just meant to be together, no matter how much you try to force them apart...<em>

Catcher wasn't meant to get involved in mortal lives. His job as a Chronicler was to document the lives of the people he watched. That's it. No meddling and no getting involved, no getting close to the mortals. Those were the rules… but Catcher never really liked rules.

It started off with an interest. She'd caught his eye in the vague way that sometimes people do, so he'd watched her with a kind of detached interest, checking in on her every now and again with growing frequency until one day he found that he was unable to_ stop_ watching her. He made up huge portions of other mortals chronicles just so he could watch Her for longer, see what She did, who She spoke to, what She said. She was so quietly unobserved by her peers that Catcher started to feel a connection with her. He saw her when others didn't. _He _knew how talented and beautiful She was, how much she could really do if she were given the opportunity. He knew Her better than anyone else. She was _his._

But then _he _had turned up, like a dark cloud on the horizon. Catcher had disliked him from the first, although he hadn't known why. _He_ wasn't one of Catcher's Observed, _he'd_ come from some other Chronicler's quota, and would remain their issue, but Catcher did not like the way the newcomer looked at Her. He did not like it at all, and then, one day as if from nowhere, it _started. _Catcher could see it happening although he was powerless to stop it, and it killed him to note down every shared glance, every touch of the fingers, every handhold and hug. Catcher had clenched his flaming Seraphim feather quill so tightly when he'd documented their first kiss that he'd put it out. He'd thrown things about the room when he'd had to notate their first date and he was in such a foul mood for the week after they'd slept together for the first time that absolutely everyone had avoided him, even the Putti, winged toddler-type creatures who were sweet little things and were generally nice to everyone. They'd scattered out of his way with haste whenever they'd seen him coming that week. The space around where he worked became like a wasteland, no one wanted to set foot there and risk Catcher's rage. And rage he did.

When _he _proposed, however, Catcher was oddly subdued, the seeds of a plan had begun to germinate in his brain and had put down such firm roots by the time that the wedding came around that Catcher appeared eerily calm. He glided around the silvery halls with a strange half smile on his face as he mentally went over his plan over and over again. The more he thought about it, the more Catcher liked it. He was going to get what he wanted, for once, he was going to make things the way they _should _be.

Shortly after _he _proposed, Catcher started… borrowing things. He'd borrow a little discarded skill from here, or a talent from there, and in doing so Catcher very slowly began to gather to himself all the tools he would need to take _him _out of the picture. He couldn't kill, and he didn't want to, but he could manipulate. Catcher could always go back in time, it was a necessary skill for a Chronicler who needed to double check facts and events, but for the first time he could _change _things. Not huge things - not at the beginning - but sometimes small changes were all that were necessary.

All he needed to do was make sure that She never met _him. _Catcher flipped through Her chronicle and peered at the pages. The moment _he _had descended on Her chronicle was burned into his brain, but he needed to go back further than that. He would have to work in _his _chronicle if he wanted to save Her for himself.

Catcher never bothered to dwell on what he was doing. It was not a Chronicler's job to dwell, only to document. That was why it didn't occur to him that She might actually love _him. _It was why Catcher did not stop to consider that as a Chronicler he himself would never be able to be with her, a mortal. Catcher thought of nothing but his plan.

No Chronicler could watch everyone at once, Catcher knew this from his own experience. So he waited until _his_ Chronicler was busy with another mortal and stole into his chambers, quickly locating and… _borrowing…_thechronicle that documented the life of his unknowing enemy. When he got it back to his own work chamber Catcher pored over the chronicle, noting the points of the newcomer's life that were weak, points where he could potentially stop his path like a dam and re=divert his attentions away from Her. Catcher didn't particularly want _him _to have a terrible life, he didn't really _care _about _him _to be honest. He just didn't want _him_ to have Her.

Time passes differently for those who have no end, but it was some time before Catcher made his first change to the chronicle. He was still a Chronicler by nature, and he did not make changes lightly, not without first weighing up the potential consequences. Small actions could have large future repercussions. So it was not without much trepidation that Catcher held his quill above Sam Evans' chronicle… and erased _his_ move to Lima.

Then he carefully put the chronicle back where he'd found it. Vowing to check back in a sufficient amount of time to ensure that the chronicles had amended themselves to his satisfaction, Catcher slipped back to his own domain, his step already all the lighter for having finally relieved himself of the thorn in his side that was Sam Evans. Soon, Mercedes Jones would belong to only him again, Catcher reflected, exactly as She should.


	2. Edit 1: Lima

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee or any of its characters, nor do I own She Was by Jason Jones or James Cameron's Avatar. All rights go to their respective owners.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

"Don't look now, but I think that blond guy is checking you out." Quinn whispered as she and Mercedes stood in line for the vending machine.

Mercedes had been vacantly running her fingers through her hair and smoothing down the ruffled flare of her dress. They were at the National Show Choir championships, and emotions were running high. New Directions had made it to Nationals and had even cracked the top 10, but now, on the second day of competition, the cracks had started to show as the pressure to win a trophy their senior year kicked into overdrive.

Mercedes and Quinn had gone in search of a vending machine, arguing that they needed to get Quinn's blood sugar level up if they wanted her to be at her best for that day's performance, but really they'd just been desperate to get out of the dressing room. Everyone's nerves were on edge, and Rachel's high strung outbursts and 'helpful pointers' to her teammates had an already riled up Lauren ready to kill her, while Santana had been shooting the brunette murderous looks and muttering darkly to herself in Spanish all day.

The soul sisters had taken one look at each other and known that they needed to get out of there before their heads exploded from the tension. Quinn had decided that she really _was_ thirsty, so they'd searched until they'd found a vending machine without too long a line and waited patiently for their turn.

Show choirs from all over the country had come together for the competition, and there were hundreds of them milling about the hotel. It seemed like every corner the girls had turned around hid a group of teens clustered together in elaborate costumes. One guy had even been dressed as a giant piñata - neither Quinn or Mercedes had been able to figure that one out.

'He's probably looking at _you_, Q.' Mercedes insisted bringing her focus back to Quinn's comment. She didn't turn around - with a best friend who looked like Quinn she was used to having guys look at them, it was just that they weren't usually seeing _her_.

'No!' Quinn corrected in a hushed whisper, 'He's _definitely _looking at you. He hasn't taken his eyes off you this whole time!'

Quinn's green eyes were bright with conviction, so Mercedes humoured her and turned to look in the direction her friend was looking in.

'And he's cute_,_' Quinn added,_ '_even if he _is_ wearing a bolo tie.'

Mercedes rolled her eyes and shot the blonde girl a chastising look over her shoulder.

'There is nothing wrong with a bolo tie, Quinn.'

Quinn laughed softly and shook her head.

'I know _you _don't think so, Miss _Secretly addicted to Country Music.'_

Mercedes blushed at her friends gentle teasing and bit her lip.

'I like their accents.' She corrected, 'and it can be just as lyrical or melodic as any other genre.' Mercedes added half-heartedly, knowing that she and her best friend had had this conversation many times before and would no doubt have it again.

'I don't know why, but they kinda remind me of something, like someone I knew a long time ago but forgot….'

A faraway look creased Mercedes' brow before a nudge from behind urged her to move up in the queue and distracted her.

'Ok, so which one is he?' she asked Quinn as the two of them shuffled closer to the head of the line. Mercedes turned her head to look for the blond boy again, but didn't know which one Quinn meant, she could see a lot of teenagers, but Quinn was taller and had a better vantage point than she did.

'That one.'

Quinn pointed as discreetly as possible to a tall, blond boy in a fancy white and black cowboy shirt and a bolo tie. He was clutching a black Stetson in his hands and was passing the brim through his fingers absently as he looked intently in their direction.

Quinn was right, the guy _was _cute, and from the way that shirt fit him Mercedes was willing to bet that he had the body of a Greek god hidden away under there. Still... she wasn't sure what it was, but something about the boy seemed… _familiar _somehow. But she couldn't know him, Mercedes told herself with an imperceptible shake of her head. _He looks like__** that**__,_ she theorised, and_she was pretty sure she wouldn't have forgotten a__ face like _that… and _yet..._

Quinn moved to the head of the queue and the movement pulled Mercedes' attention away from the boy with the bolo tie. The girl's short blonde hair flipped forward as she bent to retrieve her drink before she straightened and threaded her arm through Mercedes', leading her away from the machines.

They didn't want to go back to the tension pit that was their dressing room just yet, but Mr. Schue was on a responsibility kick and they knew they'd need a good reason if they wanted to justify taking any more time than they already had.

'You should go talk to him.' Quinn prompted, giving Mercedes a little shove in the blonde's direction. 'He's probably nice, and it would mean we wouldn't have to go back to the rest of the glee club just yet.'

Mercedes shook her head against the suggestion, her dark curls bouncing about her shoulders as she tried to ignore Quinn's beseeching wide eyes.

'_Mercy..._' the girl purred, her husky voice low and entreating as she tried to change her stubborn friend's mind.

'No.'

Mercedes was _not _going to be swayed, no matter how far her best friend stuck out her bottom lip.

'_Merce_...' Quinn said again, her voice even more coaxing this time as she gently draped an arm around Mercedes' shoulders and half turned her back towards the boy in the bolo tie.

Mercedes could just about make him out in her periphery, and she couldn't help but glance back at him over her shoulder. His eyes were still on her and their gazes met with all the inevitability of a lock sliding into place. The corner of the his mouth lifted in a crooked grin and Mercedes found herself returning it, smiling sweetly back at him as her body reacting with a familiarity that it shouldn't yet possess. Within seconds the boy was standing in front of her, looking awkward as hell as he smiled down at her, his hands dancing around the brim of his cowboy hat.

'Hi,'

Mercedes blinked up at him and smiled back.

'Hi.'

'I'm Sam.' He offered, subtly wiping a sweaty palm on his dark jeans before he held it out to her. 'Sam I Am, and I do not like green eggs and ham.'

'Oh wow.' Quinn breathed, watching their interaction from where she had been apparently forgotten at Mercedes' side. 'Absolutely _no _game.'

She shook her head and then watched with a mix of horror and confusion as Mercedes let out a genuine giggle in response to Sam's dorky comment. _Unbelievable, _Quinn thought, her eyes glued to her best friend as if seeing her for the first time, _who'd have thought?_

'I'm Mercedes.' The raven-haired girl volunteered as she took hold of Sam's hand and shook it, her small fingers almost disappearing inside his large calloused palm .

'Nice to meet you, Mercedes.' Sam's thumb stroked the back of the girl's small hand instinctively as he held it in his own.

'You're in the competition?' he queried, as he let go of her hand, his brow wrinkling as he looked at her expectantly. Mercedes just nodded; Sam's deep, melodic voice and Southern drawl were distracting her. Something about the combination was making the hairs on her arms stand up, and it wasn't just attraction either, there was just _something _about this boy.

'Yeah, we're in the New Directions. From Ohio.' Quinn interjected and Mercedes shook her head at her own lack of manners.

'I'm sorry,' she apologized to both blondes, 'this is Quinn, we're both in the McKinley show choir, from Ohio.'

Sam smiled politely at Quinn and shook her hand, introducing himself as simply 'Sam' this time.

'So where are you from, Sam?' Mercedes asked with interest, cocking her head to one side and fixing her dark brown eyes on him.

'Jackson, Tennessee.' Sam's own green eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked at her. 'I'm in the Deeper Tones, from Franklin Prep.' He smiled again and gave a tiny shrug, 'I guess that makes you our competition.'

Mercedes raised her eyebrows and let out a soft chuckle.

'I guess we are.'

Quinn's cell went off and she excused herself from the conversation with a quick apology, retiring to a quiet corner to answer it and leaving Sam and Mercedes alone. _T__hey only had eyes for each other anyway_, she noted with a knowing smile as she took the call.

'So... I should probably stop talking to you.' Sam reasoned, although the good-natured smile on his face stopped his words from sounding truly competitive.

'You probably should.' Mercedes agreed, unconsciously mirroring his expression and body language.

'Thing is,' Sam leaned closer to her and Mercedes got a whiff of his aftershave, something clean and warm smelling. It was oddly comforting. 'I don't really want to stop talking to you, Mercedes.'

Mercedes shook her head and chuckled softly, unaware that her laugh was washing over Sam like a babbling brook in the summer. He had no idea why he felt such a connection to this girl but he did. He'd felt it almost as soon as she'd walked into the room and he'd been unable to keep his eyes off her ever since. She was beautiful, although he knew that her curves and dark skin would have some of his teammates disagreeing with him, but Sam didn't care. He'd never let labels dictate his life before and he sure as hell wasn't about to start now.

Mercedes stepped closer to him and he leaned down to hear her as she spoke in a tone that equaled his own,

'Well, call me crazy, but I don't really want to stop talking to you either, Sam.'

He watched as she shook her head against her words as if she was internally trying to get her head around the revelation. He knew that feel. Mercedes muttered something to herself that sounded like, 'and the guys with the black Stetson's are always bad guys' which she probably hadn't intended for him to hear, but made him let out a surprised bark of laughter when he did.

'I'm sorry.' He apologized after she gave him the side-eye. 'It's just, did you just try to apply a movie rule to real life?'

Mercedes' eyes widened at him and he watched as she drew her full lips together into a thin line.

'Well, I don't know!' she shot back, frowning at his laughter, 'You're the first cowboy I've met, and you're wearing a black hat!'

Sam bit his lower lip to stop any further chuckles from escaping as he took in the conviction on her face. He palmed the top of his hat and held it out to her imploringly, working the puppy dog expression as best he could as he pointed out,

'I'm not wearing it.'

Mercedes rolled her eyes and smacked him lightly on the chest, laughter in her eyes and voice.

'Don't be a smartass.'

Sam's grin widened.

'So you've been checking out my ass?' he asked, trying to keep his face as straight as possible as he gently baited her, but the expression of shock and embarrassment that crossed her face thwarted him and he found himself launching into insuppressible peals of laughter.

'So you _have _been checking out my butt!' he accused shaking his head at her before he shoved his hands in his pockets and straightened.

'That's ok.' He admitted, with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. 'I checked yours out too.'

Mercedes figured that if her eyes got any bigger she'd qualify as an anime character, had he really just said what she _thought _he'd said? She couldn't believe that he'd really been checking out her butt, but when she studied his face for a second she realised that he wasn't playing a trick on her. His expression was so honest that it erased all doubt, although she still wasn't sure why he'd been looking at _her_ when Quinn was right next to her. She wouldn't have blamed him, sometimes even _she _checked out Quinn, the girl was just that beautiful.

Mercedes opened her mouth to say something but a soft touch on her arm stopped her.

'Sorry to interrupt.' The blond girl said with a pointed smirk at Mercedes, 'but that was Tina, we have to get back to the dressing room.'

Mercedes nodded and smiled apologetically at Sam as Quinn took her hand and began to lead her away.

'Good luck in the competition, Sam.' She cried over her shoulder as she tripped off down the hall behind Quinn, 'It was nice meeting you.'

'You too!' Sam called back, 'I'll be rooting for you to come in second!'

Mercedes' head shot round to look at him as he stood smiling jovially at her retreating back. He fitted his cowboy hat on his head and crossed his arms over his chest as she whispered something to Quinn, disengaged her hand and came back to him.

'Second?' She asked him, coming toe to toe as she mirrored his pose and peered up at him, fire in her eyes.

'_We'll_ be the ones lifting that Nationals trophy, Blondie.'

'Well I don't want the Deeper Tones to lose.' Sam explained a note of apology colouring the amusement in his voice. 'Although I'm sure you're wonderful. The best I can wish for you is second place... behind yours truly, of course.'

Sam made a little self-deprecating grab at his heart and smirked at her. Mercedes rolled her eyes but conceded that he had a point, she didn't exactly want The Deeper Tones to beat _them_ either. It just wasn't something she was used to having people _say. _The people at show choirs usually all simpered at each other and told each other that they were 'fabulous' and then savaged each other's performances behind their backs. Sam was weirdly honest and she felt her shoulders relax some as the thought dawned on her, she outright snorted with shocked laughter a few seconds later when he put on his best John Wayne impression, slid a finger along the brim of his cowboy hat with a flourish and said,

'How about we have ourselves a wager, little lady?'

Mercedes' hands had flown to her face to cover her mouth after she'd snorted, as if somehow covering it now would drag the sound back in as if it never happened. She couldn't believe she'd done that in front of this cute, Southern boy who was flirting with her. The shame! She dropped her hands away from her face but bit her lip, hoping that doing so would prevent any further vocal mishaps. Instead of responding to Sam's proposition she just nodded, her eyes on everything but his face.

Sam knew Mercedes had found his impression funny, but then she'd clammed up tighter than a Barbershop quartet and he wasn't sure why. His eyes flickered downwards in confusion, but he ploughed on regardless, his eyes flicking up to her face when he was done so he could watch her reaction to his proposition.

'The Deeper Tones win…' Sam started, 'You give me your phone number.'

He had _no_ idea what he was doing, he went to an all-boys school and his contact with women was pretty much limited to his mom and little sister, but Sam figured that it was what John Wayne would do. If, you know, John Wayne was a teenage boy living in the 21st century... at a show choir competition.

'And if New Directions win?' Mercedes asked, a small smile beginning to tug at the corners of her mouth.

'If New Directions win, I give you _my_ number.' Sam quipped, feigning confidence, but the blush staining his cheeks and ears betrayed his nerves.

'Either way we'd both have enough other's number.' Mercedes pointed out, her brow furrowing.

'Exactly.' Sam winked at her. 'It's win-win.'

'Cedes!' Quinn called from down the hall, and Mercedes looked anxiously back at her friend who was waiting, hands on hips, a little way down the hall that led back to their dressing room.

'I've got to go.' Mercedes apologized when she turned back again, her eyelashes fluttering softly against her cheeks, '...But it's a deal.'

Sam's face lit up brighter than a firework display on the fourth of July when he realised his gamble had paid off, and he was certain that if it got any wider his face would split open... or his face would freeze like that for eternity, but he couldn't help it. He just _really_ wanted to know this girl.

'Hug to seal the deal?' He asked, stretching his arms out by his sides as he tried to look as entreating and _non-creeper-_ish as possible.

Mercedes responded by raising an eyebrow in an expression that clearly said that she totally didn't believe 'deal-sealing hugs' were a thing.

Sam scrunched his nose up and lifted a shoulder.

'Would you believe that it's a Southern thing?'

'No.' Mercedes didn't bother to sugarcoat it, but slipped her arms around him anyway.

Sam's arms tightened around her as she settled around his waist. She felt good in his arms, Sam thought, enjoying the way her lush curves felt under his hands as he held her against him. They stayed like that for a brief moment before Quinn called out again and Mercedes pulled herself out of his embrace. She called out another hurried goodbye as she dashed off down the carpeted hallway to where Quinn was waiting with barely contained delight written all over her face.

'Mercedes and Sam, sittin' in a tree!' Quinn sang as Mercedes caught up to her, laughing as the dark-skinned girl shoved her playfully in response.

'H-U-G-G-I-N-G!'

'Stop that!' Mercedes demanded, which just seemed to make Quinn laugh more.

'Never.' Quinn promised affectionately as she wrapped an arm around her friend and guided her back to the dressing room. They could already hear the faint sounds of an argument floating towards them down the hall and the two girls exchanged a knowing look before straightening their shoulders in resignation.

'It was nice while it lasted.'

The rest of the Deeper Tones thought he was crazy when Sam stood up to cheer on the New Directions, but he didn't much care. Mercedes was flawless as she danced and sang with her teammates, but it was when she took centre stage and sang solo that Sam realized how truly amazing she was. His mouth fell open as she seemed to effortlessly hit notes he'd only heard on recordings. She was _incredible - _actually awe-inspiring - and Sam felt his cheeks reddening as he remembered his 'second place' comment. The Deeper Tones were good, but he doubted they had a voice among them that could match hers, he shook his head in wonder. She was _something else_... and **he was going to have her number_._** Sam smiled smugly to himself as The New Directions bowed and left the stage, he was feeling like the luckiest guy in the room and no one was going to tell him otherwise. Even when his choir was called and he felt a familiar rush of butterflies in his stomach, Sam just stood up and shoved his hat on his head with aplomb. He was pretty certain he couldn't match Mercedes' performance vocally, but The Deeper Tones weren't out of the running yet, and he was sure as heck going to give it his best shot.

Mercedes tried to ignore Quinn's pointed look when The Deeper Tones took to the stage, but her eyes zeroed in on Sam almost immediately and she couldn't keep herself from cheering a little bit louder than she ordinarily would have done. To her surprised delight, the group launched into one of her favourite country songs and she found herself grinning throughout the whole performance, holding onto Quinn's hand as the two of them danced along to the song with their hands in the air. Sam's voice was clear and true, and had all the qualities that she seemed to favour in the country vocalists she listened to, but honestly, Mercedes had suspected that that would be the case as soon as he'd opened his mouth to introduce himself.

_I'd love to sing with him one day_, Mercedes thought as the Deeper Tones finished their performance and stepped off the stage, _they'd sound phenomenal together on _Human Nature by _Michael Jackson _she thought abstractly as she watched the Deeper Tones boys file offstage, and then frowned as she realised how weirdly specific the thought had been. _Strange._

Behind her, Santana was saying something about 'hick music' but Mercedes ignored it. Santana was in a buoyant mood from their performance and over the years Mercedes had learned that the girl's pride in them had a way of showing itself through her derision of others. She knew that Santana was only complaining about the other acts because she didn't want to admit out loud that she thought that the New Directions had a chance of winning. Mercedes sighed, Santana was always so afraid to be disappointed that she wouldn't let herself believe in the merit of anything. Mercedes shook her head and paid Santana's muttered criticisms no heed, she'd loved the Deeper Tones performance, and the judges just might too.

Mercedes smoothed out the puffy skirt of her purple jewel toned competition dress for the millionth time and blew out a deep breath. She almost didn't want to know how they'd placed, even though Rachel's obnoxious rationalizing was starting to drive her crazy. Mercedes supposed that if knowing was the price of having Rachel shut up then she'd deal with it. Blaine came up beside her and took one hand in his as they walked to the stage for the results announcements. Quinn came up on her other side and took her other hand, literally having to prise it away from where it was already attempting to smooth down the skirt again. Mercedes squeezed both their hands as they made the long, eerily silent journey to the stage in a long train, Blaine holding onto Kurt, who was holding onto Rachel who was holding onto Finn, and on her other side Quinn was locking hands with Tina, who was holding onto Mike, who was holding onto Brittany, who was holding Santana's hand in a death grip. Zizes had declared that 'She didn't do that ish.' and Puck had opted to push Artie. They probably looked like pre-schoolers, Mercedes thought, and she had to admit she felt like a toddler on her first day of school she was so nervous. She supposed she should be happy that they'd managed to break into the Top 10, a feat that they hadn't managed the year before, but now they were that much closer to winning Nationals she was suddenly aware of how much she truly _wanted _it.

When all the remaining show choirs were assembled on the stage Mercedes stood uneasily with the rest of the New Directions. She held Blaine and Quinn's hands all the tighter as they waited for the announcement that would finally let them know if they were going home Champions, or if they'd managed to miss out on the top spot for yet another year, Mercedes felt like she was going to be sick.

The Deeper Tones were onstage too, as were another three groups from across the country that she had barely registered and they all waited in anxious silence as the head judge opened the envelope with painstaking slowness and pulled out the card inside. The blood pumped louder in Mercedes' ears as she watched him. _She really, really wanted to win_. It was her senior year, she'd been featured in a competition for the first time, and she wanted it all to be _worth_ it. She wanted to prove to them all that she truly _was _good enough.

The judge began to read out the names of the runners up in descending order from 5th place to 1st and Mercedes prayed fervently that she wouldn't hear their name until the very end. Then tension in her grew as two other show choirs came 4th and 5th and Quinn's grip on her hand squeezed like a vice as they waited expectantly for the rest of the results. They were definitely in the top three, but _where_?

The Deeper Tones came third, and Mercedes felt a pang of sadness for Sam although, for some reason, he didn't look all that upset. He shot her a small thumbs up from across the stage when he caught her looking at him, and Mercedes sent a small, tense smile back as the judge milked a dramatic pause for all it was worth before he announced the second place show choir.

'And, in second place…

…

…

...

...

…. from Rhode Island, it's the _Show Boats!'_

It was like everything around Mercedes exploded as her friends jumped about screaming. They'd actually done it. They'd _won! _She was rooted to the spot in a state of shock as Quinn kissed her cheek and Mike picked her up in a swooping hug. It only began to sink in when Mr. Schuester took hold of the giant 1st place trophy and handed it to her, giving her a congratulatory pat on the shoulder as she struggled to keep hold the massive trophy and wipe her tears at the same time. She handed it off to Finn, who was probably the only person taller than the darn thing anyway, and formed a group hug with Rachel and Tina, who were just as weepy as she was.

'We did it you guys!' Rachel whispered as the three of them huddled together.

'After all the drama,' Tina nodded, tears streaming down her pretty face, 'We made it.'

The group expanded to let Artie, Finn and Kurt in as the original six members of the McKinley high glee club took a second to appreciate how far they'd come.

'Who knew we'd get here from _Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat_?' Artie declared, shaking his head at the memory of their first disastrous performance.

'Who knew we'd get here from _Push It._' Finn added and the group burst into fits of giggles.

'You know I love you guys, right?' Kurt's soft voice cut in as he hugged them all tighter. There was a loud chorus of 'Aww!'s before the girls started to cry again.

Mercedes threw her blazer on over her normal clothes and slipped her cell phone into her pocket. She'd changed out of her competition dress not long after the results and photo sessions. Kurt had threatened them all with 'scathing stories in his memoirs' if anything happened to their outfits, so most of them had opted to change out of them. Now she was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans with the blazer thrown over a pink and grey leopard print shirt. She'd changed out of her competition heels into a pair of pink suede wedges that matched her outfit. She felt much more comfortable when she was out of the costume and dressed as herself, and far more able to get her emotions in order.

She slipped her key card into her pocket and slipped away from the group. Everyone was still on an emotional high from their win, and would be for several hours yet, possibly even several _days_. Puck was promising a victory party with booze that was 'Better than Berry's' and everyone was in good spirits, talking loudly over each other and sharing memories and shouted congratulations. Mercedes would join them soon and party just as hard as everyone else, but she needed to get her thoughts together first. She was still feeling the shock of their win, and everything afterwards had been so overwhelming that she'd needed a second to stop and look at it all, maybe then she'd really get her head around the fact that they were now The McKinley High New Directions: _National Championship winners_.

Mercedes walked through the lobby of the hotel and pushed open the hotel doors. She wasn't going to go far, just to sit on the stoop, but she needed the fresh air. The slight chill to it was already serving to remind her that she was real, that _this_ was real. _They really had done it. _

Mercedes shoved her hands in her blazer pockets and took a deep breath, blowing it out in a long steady stream as she watched the lights of the cars in the distance twinkle against the city's darkness. It was still so much brighter here than it was back home in Lima though, here it never really got dark - there were too many people still awake at every hour of the day, Mercedes guessed. Going places, doing things… she sat down on the top step and watched the cars drive past her, wondering who was in them, where they were coming from, where they were going _to_…

She wasn't sure how long she sat like that, but after a while her head did start to feel clearer. She considered calling her mother for a brief moment before deciding that that was a call that could save for for tomorrow. Her mom would get crazy excited and ask a million and one questions, desperate for every single detail, from the moment Mercedes had stepped off the plane to the time they placed the trophy in her hands. Mercedes appreciated the support, but she was too emotionally charged to have the patience for that tonight. She shoved her hands into her pockets and studied her knees, lost in her own thoughts. She didn't register the footsteps approaching behind her until a tall figure folded himself onto the stoop beside her.

Sam just wanted some air, The Deeper Tones guys were so excited to have placed third that they had been celebrating hard, as only Southern boys can, ever since… well, whenever it was in the afternoon that they'd gotten the results. The Deeper Tones had only been around for about two years, and were formed on something of a whim by a music teacher at Franklin Prep. Sam had talked them up to Mercedes, but the DT's were actually pretty new to the whole gig and frankly surprised that they'd managed to make it this far. _Good old dumb luck_, Sam thought as pushed open the hotel doors and stepped into the mild evening air. _Luck or fate, one of the two._

He almost didn't see her, she was almost invisible dressed as she was in all black and hunched down on the stoop, but then headlights had flashed in the distance and illuminated her for a second, a solitary figure against the darkness. Sam knew it was Mercedes straightaway, identifying her easily with some instinct that he hadn't realized he possessed. He approached her slowly, not sure if she'd be receptive to company, after all, she was out here in the night while her teammates were no doubt celebrating up a storm inside. She seemed lost in her own world and Sam didn't want to interrupt her, so he took a chance and dropped onto the stoop next to her, somehow knowing that she wouldn't mind. _They could be quiet together,_ he figured, _there was no harm in that._

Mercedes turned as soon as she felt another presence next to her ready to give the poor soul who thought he could join her uninvited an earful. But when she turned her head and saw Sam, looking contentedly off into the distance beside her, she bit back her angry response and took him in instead. His blonde hair gleamed under the shifting lights of the city: red, then orange, then ghostly pale, like the fingers of moonlight that only managed to peek feebly through the clouds here, but would have been bathing them in light back in Lima.

'Hi.' She smiled softly at him, giving him a gentle nudge with her shoulder in greeting. He peeled his gaze away from whatever it was he'd been looking at in the distance and smiled back at her, the hair flipping into his green eyes as he turned his head. Mercedes hand was already lifting instinctively to move it out of his face before she realised what she was doing. That wasn't her place, she chastised herself gently and squashed the urge as she dropped her hand to her knees.

'Hey. Congratulations on your win.' Sam bumped her shoulder back and she laughed.

'Thanks. It's taking some time to sink in. I still can't quite believe it happened.'

Disbelief flickered in her eyes and Sam put an instinctive arm around her, squeezing her to him.

'Hey, I watched your performance, you were phenomenal, and you absolutely deserved to win.' Mercedes looked up at him, a smile playing on her lips.

'Well, thank you, Cowboy.'

He laughed at the nickname and pretended to doff an imaginary hat to her, feigning surprised when he discovered that his hat was no longer there.

'You know I'm not a real cowboy, right? And _apparently' _he said, gesturing to his bare head, 'I'm not wearing my hat, so you can trust me.'

Mercedes tipped her head back and let out a short laugh, her hair cascading over his arm and down her back like a waterfall.

'Yeah, I figured that out. Not a lot of cowboys in private school, I'll bet.'

His arm was still around her, and she enjoyed the feel of its heavy weight on her shoulders for a second.

'I enjoyed your performance too.' she told him, contentment making her voice sound lazy and calm, 'Jason Jones is one of my favourites.'

Sam's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline in surprise, 'Are you serious right now?'

Mercedes pushed away from him enough so she could give him the stink eye.

'Yes! I like country music, ok. You don't know me!'

'I know!' Sam laughed as he held his hands out to her in supplication. 'I was just surprised, that's all. I know I don't know you yet … but I'd like to.'

He didn't look at her as he said it, he knew that if he had he might have chickened out and that wasn't something he wanted to do where Mercedes was concerned. San wasn't sure if she was mad at him - she might have been - but he hadn't meant anything by it, it was just that her voice and the songs her choir had performed had made him think that she was more of an R&B/pop/classics kind of girl. The quiet began to stretch between them again so Sam started to sing to distract himself from it.

"_She was _

_Sunlight in a bottle_

_One more good tomorrow I thought I had_

_She was_

_A brush against the starlight_

_That rush when something goes right just like that"_

It was one of his own favourite Jason Jones songs, although he wasn't sure why it had popped into his head. Sam took a breath and opened his mouth to sing the next part and was stunned when Mercedes joined him, harmonizing lightly over the tune as they sang the hook together.

_Like a songbird at dawn_

_Singing tender and strong_

_Tell it not to move on_

_That's the _

_Change your life kind of woman_

There was a pause and they both smiled, raising their eyebrows expectantly at each other before they hit the next line at the exact same time.

_She was_

'Nìltsan tsa'u was lor.' Sam breathed when they were done, noting belatedly that he'd said it in Na'vi and she probably wouldn't…

'Oe mllte.'

Comprehension dawned on Sam's face as he turned to look at her. _She spoke Na'vi. _Sam figured it might freak her out if he straight out told her that she was the coolest girl he'd ever met, so he settled for putting his arm around her again and giving her a quick hug instead.

If Mercedes thought about what she was doing - snuggling on a stoop with a guy that she'd just met - she would probably tell herself she was being reckless and talk herself out of it. So she chose not to think about it. Instead she gave herself over to her instincts, they were pretty accurate these days now that she wasn't letting other people influence her, and right now Mercedes' instincts were telling her that she could absolutely, 100% trust this boy.

'So...' Mercedes said after a short companionable silence, 'I believe we made something of a wager.'

She'd tried to do a John Wayne impression but it hadn't sounded anywhere near as convincing as his had. She laughed and waved a hand to excuse it.

'I was much better at that in my head.' she explained. Mine is nowhere near as good as yours, it sounded more like Jimmy Stewart.' Sam beamed at her and made an '_I dunno…' _face.

'It was a _good effort_.'

Mercedes shook her head and held her palms up to him in defeat.

'No, don't lie. It was awful, I can own that.'

Sam shrugged as if to say, '_what're you gonna do?' _and fished his phone out of his pocket.

'Ok, well, you won the wager, so I guess I'll have to give you my number.' he tried to sound put upon, but it wasn't very believable. '_Gee_, it's hard being an _uber_ stud.' Sam sighed and hung his head in mock exasperation, watching out of the corner of his eye as Mercedes shook her head and slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

'Boy, stop.'

She pulled out her phone and unlocked it, holding it out to Sam before she jerked it back again at the last second when he reached for it.

'You're not a freshman are you?' she asked, panic edging her voice.

Sam let out a deep chuckle and raised an eyebrow.

'Do I look like a freshman, Mercy?' Sam asked, his voice low and husky as he fixed her with teasing eyes.

'I don't know.' Mercedes shook her head in exasperation, 'It's hard to tell these days, you might just have been eating your Wheaties!'

Sam laughed but held out for a second before he put her out of her misery.

'I'm a senior.'

'Oh, good!' she breathed, 'So am I.'

'Awesome.' He said genuinely, 'Where are you… I mean, do you have anything planned for after you graduate?'

Mercedes smiled as she thought about the acceptance letter that had arrived in the mail just two weeks previously.

'Yeah. College.' The words tasted foreign on her tongue. Foreign but completely and utterly wonderful, 'Carnegie Mellon.'

Sam stared at her slack-jawed for a good thirty seconds before he was able to speak again.

'This is unreal.' He said finally, '_I'm _going to Carnegie Mellon. Studying Art.' He specified, blinking in complete bemusement as if trying to fan away his confusion with his eyelashes. When he'd gotten over his surprise he held up a hand for a high-five.

'Well, that officially makes you the _only _person I'll know in Pittsburgh. I'll 'five' to that.'

Mercedes didn't know what to say, so she returned his high-five with a satisfying smack before she handed him her phone without any further hesitation and watched as he typed in his number. When he was done he tentatively handed both phones to her and grinned when she quickly input her own details into his cell before handing it back to him. Their fingers brushed as he took the device from her and the sensation from the contact sent warm shivers down both their spines.

'Do you believe in fate?' Mercedes asked him on a whim, the words spilling out of her mouth as she swept her hair over one shoulder, checked her phone and then shoved it back into her pocket.

Sam leaned back on his hands and looked up into the night sky, wishing that the stars were as visible here as they were back in Tennessee, he always felt more able to answer the big questions when he could see them.

'I _didn't_.' he confessed quietly into the evening air, his eyes still trained on stars he knew were there, burning in the distance somewhere behind the rolling clouds that blanketed the sky . 'But I feel… something.'

'Like a pull.' Mercedes supplied in a low voice.

'That leads me in a direction that seems so _familiar_.' Sam agreed nodding.

'But at the same time, _not._'

'Like you're meeting someone you've known forever.'

'Instead of less than a day.' Mercedes finished, wrapping her arms tightly around her knees as they regarded each other, trying to figure out if they were just being melodramatic teenagers or if something bigger really was at work here.

'Well, God has a hand.' Sam announced eventually, looking at the girl sat next to him through the fringe that had once again flopped into his eyes. Mercedes reached up and brushed the stray hair away as if she'd done it a million times before, Sam leaning down slightly so she could sweep the hair over his ear, the action more innate than calculated. It was the kind of thing elderly couples did, people who had been with each other for so long that they had moulded to each other and were perfectly in balance. But neither Sam nor Mercedes thought about that. In fact, the action didn't register at all. It was so natural that it didn't register as anything special until after it was completed and Mercedes removed her hand as if she wasn't quite sure how or why she'd done what she'd done.

'Yeah...' she murmured, her voice wavering as she pondered the strangeness of falling easily back into habits that she had never established, call it God, or fate or _déjà vu_… whatever it was, it was _definitely _there. Mercedes cleared her throat and steadied her voice, finding in it the conviction she had lacked the first time as she repeated herself.

'Yeah. I think you might be right.'

Sam and Mercedes sat and talked companionably for a few more minutes before a frantic Puck burst through the hotel doors and nearly tripped over them.

'Dude!' he spluttered angrily before he realized who he was talking to. 'Jeez, _Booty Bounce. _Do you know how worried we all got when we realized no one knew where you were?'

Puck's voice was accusing, but the fear in his eyes told Mercedes that he'd truly been concerned for her, so she reached up and gave him a hug to calm him down.

'I'm still mad.' He protested over her shoulder, his head bobbing up and down as he spoke.

'No you're not.' Mercedes insisted, adding a little sway to the hug as Puck grumbled and pulled away from her, all traces of irritation gone.

'It is _not _cool that you know how to do that.' The teen complained as his eyes landed on Sam, still sitting quietly next to Mercedes as he watched them with interest.

'Who is this?' Puck shoved a thumb in Sam's direction as he waited expectantly for Mercedes to answer.

'This,' Mercedes hand shot out to cover Puck's accusing gesture and dragged his hand down to his side, 'is Sam. He's in the Deeper Tones.'

Puck eyed Sam suspiciously, trying to decide if he should kick his ass for leading Mercedes away from the rest of the group or not.

Puck liked Mercedes, she'd been good to him during the short time they'd dated (even though he hadn't really deserved it) and she'd encouraged him to be a better person. He was pretty sure that he wouldn't have Lauren now if it hadn't have been for Mercedes laying the foundations. She was his friend, and Puck was fiercely protective of her.

'The singing cowboys, right?' Puck asked without cracking a smile, using one of his patented intimidation techniques to put a little scare into the blond kid who thought he could steal Mercedes away. He looked the kid up and down and figured that he could take him, if he had to, but Puck knew that _Booty Bounce _wouldn't like it if he did. He studied the boy's face intently, making sure he could pick him out of a line up if he had to.

'Dude, your mouth is huge!' he blurted in surprise when he got a good look at Sam's face. 'How many tennis balls can you fit in there?'

Sam raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look with Mercedes, who just rolled her eyes and shrugged as if to say, _that's Puck!_

'I don't know.' Sam conceded, 'I've never had any balls in my mouth. Have you?'

Sam heard Mercedes' barely contained snort of laughter and a smile twitched on his face in response, but he wouldn't let it break him from his staring contest with Puck. Sam went to an all-boys school, he knew when a dude was trying to intimidate him.

Finally Puck looked away, breaking off the glaring contest with a shrug.

'Fair point.' The mohawked teen allowed, turning away from Sam to look at Mercedes.

'We best get back to the others, Babe.' He told her, 'Everyone was kinda freaking out. We thought you'd been kidnapped.'

Mercedes laughed at Puck's words, not realizing that he wasn't exaggerating, and accepted his hand to help her up. Sam's eyes lingered on her butt as she stood and dusted off her jeans, and he bit his lower lip subconsciously, unaware that the other boy was watching him with mistrust.

When Puck lead Mercedes past Sam he waited until her back was turned before he pointed two fingers at his eyes and then jabbed them at Sam in a gesture that obviously meant 'I'm watching you'. Sam tried to care, but Mercedes had dropped a hand to his shoulder and squeezed it as she went past, uttering a soft, 'See ya, Cowboy.' as she went.

'Yeah,' Sam agreed, turning to watch her go, 'See you in Pittsburgh.'

Mercedes turned just before she pushed open the door to go back into the hotel and looked back at him. The soft light from inside the building lit her from behind and made her look like she was glowing. She looked like an angel.

A smile danced across Mercedes face as she nodded, and lifted her hand in farewell.

'Yeah… You will.'

Sam stayed out a bit longer as he mulled the day's events over in his mind. Memories of Puck's defensiveness over Mercedes made him wince, so he took out his phone and tapped out a quick message, hoping as he sent it that he wasn't being _that guy_.

**Sorry if I got you in trouble with your boyfriend.**

A reply came back almost immediately and it brought a smile to his face.

_**Aww, were you worrying about me? :P It's fine. He's not my boyfriend.**_

Sam rose to his feet and went to rejoin his own teammates, typing as he walked.

**So… you don't have a boyfriend?**

There was a pause as Sam called the elevator and waited anxiously for a response from Mercedes. Sam looked down at the screen when his phone buzzed in her reply with a kind of sick interest, he didn't really want to know if she was seeing someone… but he had to ask.

_**No… and you better not have a girlfriend or imma whup yo ass for flirting with me while you're with her.**_

Sam burst out laughing, completely startling the older couple he was sharing the elevator with and caused the woman, a grey haired lady in a beige pantsuit, to clutch her handbag tighter to her shoulder and stare disapprovingly over her shoulder at him, tutting under her breath until he got off the elevator.

**I just burst out laughing in public.** Sam texted back,** The woman standing next to me looked like she wanted to throttle me!**

Sam hit 'Send', and then realised that he hadn't answered her question and sent another one.

**And no, I don't have a girlfriend. I'd deserve the ass whuppin' if I did.**

_**Haha! I feel no shame! And interesting.**_

**Good interesting?**

_**Good interesting.**_

Sam studied the text again as he slid the key card into the lock and pushed open the door to his room. What exactly did 'good interesting' mean? His teammates were lounging about in the room, most of them sitting on a couple of the beds or on the floor. They had the TV on but Sam didn't think anyone was watching it, they were all arguing boisterously over the top of it and you couldn't hear a word from the small television set anyway. Sam dive-bombed onto an empty bed next to them and joined in the conversation, grateful that none of them knew to quiz him about Mercedes. He'd had an awesome time sitting out with her, and he didn't want anyone to say anything to ruin it. Right now it was just _their _memory, his and hers, and he liked it that way.

**So what time do you guys leave tomorrow? **

Sam texted with one ear still on his teammates conversation, he contributed to the discussion until his phone buzzed in his hand.

_**11am. Why?**_

**Do you want to maybe grab a Kobe before you go?**

His phone buzzed again a few seconds later.

_**Uh… isn't 11 a little early for steak?**_

Sam read and reread her text again before he had to admit that he had no idea what she was talking about.

**Steak?**

_**Kobe…**_

Sam's brow furrowed, he hadn't mentioned Kobe… He'd asked her out for _coffee…_ Sam slapped his head as he read the message he'd sent over again.

**Sorry, I meant *coffee*! The guys are talking about sports, I guess it seeped in.**

_**Oh! Haha! Then sure, coffee sounds great. **_

**Awesome, there's a coffee shop in the lobby. I could meet you there at like… 9?**

_**Ok. See you tomorrow, Sam.**_

Sam grinned at her reply before he shut off his phone and fully immersed himself in the conversation. Brick was trying to argue that the Bulls were better than the Lakers and there was just no _way _Sam could let that slide.

Catcher flipped through the pages of the chronicle with fury building inside him at every turn of the page. _She still married him. _With the changed timeline they ended up going to the same college, dating for almost all of the four years and then getting married two years after they graduated.

_It. Wasn't. Fair. _

No, Catcher corrected himself, it wasn't that it wasn't _fair, _it was that he hadn't made the right changes. All he had to do was go back, put the events back to how they were and then just pick another point in _his _timeline to stop _him_ from getting Mercedes - _Catcher's_ Mercedes. Catcher reset Sam's chronicle and sat back in his chair, thinking. Stopping Sam from coming to Lima didn't keep them apart... but what if he made it so Sam never came back from Kentucky? That might work. She'd been heartbroken when he'd left, but then she'd met someone else. Catcher frowned, he didn't really like that, but he was certain that her relationship with whatsisface wasn't going to last anyway, and if he made a slight tweak… yes, he thought, mulling it over in his head. Yes, then She would be his again, all his, and no one else's.

* * *

><p>She Was by Jason Jones<p>

Nìltsan tsa'u was lor = Well, that was beautiful.

Oe mllte = I agree.


	3. Edit 2: Kentucky

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee nor any of its characters, nor do I own Avatar by James Cameron or any of the stores named in this fic. All rights go to the respective owners.

You might want to grab yourself a drink or something, cause this one's _long._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Kentucky<strong>

Mercedes hated all of them. She'd finally finished her album after two long years and she couldn't be more pleased with it, it was _perfect. _The album artwork designs she'd been shown for it, however, were not. She hated _all _of them.

Two years of blood, sweat and a few uncomfortable revelations had gone into making an album she was truly proud to call her own, and Mercedes was so close to signing off on it that she could practically _taste_ it.

Mercedes still couldn't quite believe that the dream she'd had since she first sang 'I Say A Little Prayer For You' along with her mother's stereo at two years old was about to become real. She was about to release a record.

The trouble was that the record was her baby, she'd had to dig up a lot of old emotions and unhealed scars while writing for it, and what had resulted was a heartfelt collection of songs that were so uniquely _her _that Mercedes often felt like she was exposing her inner self to the world whenever she performed them. She'd come a long way since high school, but laying her heart wide open for the world to see was still a new experience for Mercedes. She knew that emotional honesty was an essential factor in becoming a genuinely great artist, and doing so was already paying off, her album was already generating a buzz from critics. One of the songs she'd co-written and featured on with a then-unknown artist was currently making its way steadily up the charts and people were beginning to take notice of her. Her name was out there now, even if her face wasn't.

The album was _her _just as surely as if she'd set her diary to music, and _that_ was why Mercedes had balked and kicked up a fuss when the label had shown her the final mock-ups for her album artwork. If the album was her, then the artwork had to be too, and she was _not_ some $2 bootleg some Beyonce wannabe was selling out the trunk of their car - _Nu-uh _and_ no way._ Mercedes was excited to get her album out to the world, but not looking like _that_.

The studio had been patient with her, probably because of the media buzz around her and the fact that she was beginning to look like the next big break out star, so they'd told her that if she could come up with something she liked more within the next two months they'd consider it. That was all her protestations had bought her, a 'consideration', and she might still end up with the artist who did Lady Gaga's _Born This Way,_ but Mercedes knew it was better than nothing so she set to work.

Two days and many, many frustrated hours later Mercedes began to realise that finding the right designer wasn't actually as easy as it had seemed when she'd first seen the offending mock-ups. She'd spent _hours_ wracking her brain trying to figure out what she _did _want for her artwork, but she wasn't an artist, and the best that she could come up with herself was still terrible. - A three year old with Photoshop could do a better job than the stuff she'd managed. After several more hours had yielded nothing but more frustration Mercedes was close to finding said three year old and begging them to take the job. That had been when she'd had to admit that she wasn't clearly and needed to take a break. She'd thrown on her jacket and gone for a walk, figuring that maybe what she needed was time away from the problem so she could come back and look at it with fresh eyes.

Mercedes had set out with a vague idea of where she was going. It was early afternoon and the sun was bright in the sky as she walked, after spending so long cooped up inside her apartment Mercedes was glad to feel the warmth of the sun on her face and the slight breeze that tousled her hair. By the time Mercedes realized that she'd been concentrating on the weather rather than where she was going she was already lost. She didn't think she'd walked that far, but she wasn't an LA native and the surroundings were completely unfamiliar.

Mercedes looked around for a few minutes, hoping to spot some familiar landmark that would help her get her bearings, but by the time she accepted that she didn't have a clue where she was teetering on the edge of an emotional outburst. All the frustration she was feeling about her album, the homesickness that crept up on her as she thought of the familiar streets of Lima, and the fact that she hadn't eaten since the night before had her in serious danger of ducking into an alley and either bursting into tears or going all Finn Hudson on a trashcan.

It was when she was scanning the area for an alley to fulfill her needs that Mercedes had spotted it, nestled inconspicuously between a tattoo parlour and a vintage clothing store. It had been a while since Mercedes had set foot in a comic book store, not since she'd arrived in LA as a matter of fact, but she was craving something familiar and this one had a café attached, so she pushed open the door and went in.

'Welcome to _The Dark Bite Returns_,' the East Asian woman behind the counter said in a bored voice as soon as Mercedes stepped over the threshold, her eyes never leaving the pages of the graphic novel she was reading.

'Where you can have a coffee and a comic,' the woman looked up and held up a single finger in warning, fixing Mercedes with a stony glare as she did so. 'But **not**together.'

Mercedes' eyes squinted in confusion for a beat before the woman cracked up laughing.

'Just kiddin'! But if you _do _choose to eat with a comic book, then you bought the comic book. Ok?'

'Jeez!' Mercedes let out a relieved laugh, as she nodded her understanding, 'you went all Maggie Smith with that look, girl. I was actually scared!'

The woman shrugged apologetically, but looked very pleased with herself as she went back to reading, leaving Mercedes free to look around. The café part of the store was small and situated at the front of the store, well away from any comic books that hadn't been brought there specifically. It was a lot bigger than the shop front had led Mercedes to believe as the place extended back far further than she would have guessed it did. Even so, the place still seemed cosy, each wall was painted with CD sized repeating circles in red, blue and yellow. Each of the walls were painted a single colour, and the overall effect had Mercedes feeling like she was sitting in a Roy Lichtenstein painting. She loved it.

Mercedes scanned the walls for the café menu and froze, her eyes locked on the painting behind the counter.

The painting was of a pale woman with waist-length black hair and almond shaped eyes wearing a long red cloak. The woman had one hand raised pulling the hood tight about her head, while the cloak had fallen open to reveal the other hand curled around a long, nasty looking blade. Behind her, glinting eyes peeked out between dark looming trees. Mercedes' immediate thought was that the woman was in danger, but on closer inspection something in the woman's eyes made her think that perhaps the creatures in the forest who might do her harm had more to fear than the other way around.

It was done in a style that Mercedes could best describe as 'whimsically realist'; the woman in the picture looked fairly realistic, but she was softer somehow, more rounded and delicate looking than any actual person could be. It was what you might get if you mixed a Disney cartoon with real life, Mercedes decided. Real enough, and yet… not. Mercedes fell in love with the piece immediately.

'Do you want to order?' the woman from behind the counter asked after Mercedes had stood there for a while without saying anything.

'Oh! Yeah.' Mercedes peeled her eyes away from the painting and fished in her pocket for some change. Bending down a little, she quickly scanned the pastries in the glass case in front of the counter, her mouth watering as her hunger came back to her full force.

'I'll just have a black coffee and um… a cranberry and white chocolate muffin, please.' Mercedes decided still eyeing the pastries behind the glass. She straightened and focused her attention on the cashier as she totaled up Mercedes' order. The woman's long dark ponytail slipped over her shoulder as she leaned forward over the cash register to enter in Mercedes' order. The woman's almond shaped brown eyes narrowed in focus as she punched at the buttons on the machine...

'Holy crap!' Mercedes blurted as she looked from the painting to the cashier and back again.

'That's _you_ in the painting, isn't it?' she asked, dragging a hand out of her jacket pocket to point at the artwork in question.

The woman turned to look at the painting over her shoulder and sighed wistfully.

'Yeah.'

'Oh, wow.' Mercedes gushed. 'That's amazing. I was just thinking about how much I loved it, and how she, I mean _you, _look like a total badass in it.'

'Thanks.' The woman said flashing Mercedes a genuine smile and looking at her properly for the first time since she'd entered the store. 'That'll be $4.85'

'Who painted it?' Mercedes asked excitedly, as she sorted out the money, her mind already racing ahead, visualizing her album artwork done in the same style.

'My ex-boyfriend.' The woman sighed again and accepted Mercedes $10 bill before counting out her change and handing it over.

'Oh.' Mercedes said, taken aback. 'I guess it was a good break up?'

'It was ok.' the woman shrugged as she leaned forward on the counter and rested her chin on her hand. 'But we'd already broken up when he painted it.'

The woman took in Mercedes unintended raised eyebrow of surprise and elaborated.

'He was hung up on his ex the whole time we dated. One of the things I yelled at him during our break up was that he'd made a tonof art about _her, _but never _once_ made any about me.'

Mercedes winced in sympathy but the woman didn't seem that concerned.

'I haven't seen him since, but a month later he mailed me this.' She turned and stared thoughtfully at the painting,

'I think he felt bad.' She explained, her mind on other things than the canvas, 'I was in love with him, but… he was still in love with her.'

Mercedes offered the woman a look of apology.

'That sucks.'

The whole situation sounded so tragic and painful that Mercedes was starting to feel bad for even bringing it up. And now she was going to make it worse.

'Not if you're her.' The woman said with a final sigh as she straightened and turned away from the painting.

'I hope this isn't too awkward.' Mercedes ploughed on after a minute or so had passed, 'but do you know if your ex takes commissions?'

'That depends on who wants to know.' The woman said with a small smile as she reached out a hand.

'My name's Gloria Kim. I figure now you know my romantic woes you might as well know my name too.'

Mercedes smiled warmly back at the woman as she shook her hand.

'Mercedes Jones.'

Gloria's hand stilled for a brief moment before she pulled her it away.

'Oh.'

Gloria's eyes widened ever so slightly as she looked hard at Mercedes, blinking a few times as the wheels to turn in her head.

'You know what?' Gloria said after a second as she came to a decision, she grabbed a pen and scribbled a number on the back of one of the store's business cards. 'I kinda can't believe I'm doing this, but… here.'

Gloria held a stiff arm out to Mercedes, the card with the number scrawled on it wedged between her fingers. The woman visibly relaxed when the other woman reached out and took the card from her.

'It doesn't have a name on it.' Mercedes pointed out as she examined the card in her hand.

'It's an artist thing.' Gloria explained, 'He wants to protect his privacy.'

Mercedes continued to look dubiously at the card in her hand while Gloria fixed her coffee and slid the muffin onto a funky superhero print plate.

'Just… call the number.' Gloria assured her as she handed Mercedes her purchases and watched her carry them to a table. She shook her head as she made her way over to the main cash desk again, wondering what on _earth_ had possessed her to do what she'd just done. _Hormones, _she assured herself, _when in doubt, blame it on the hormones._ She slid the graphic novel she was reading back towards her and settled back into it, hoping in the back of her mind that she'd done the right thing.

Mercedes twisted the Sweet n Low packet in her hands over and over again as she waited for Gloria's ex-boyfriend to show up. The whole 'no names' thing had freaked her out, and she'd begun to worry about what kind of person insisted on being nameless. She'd forgotten for a moment that the name Mercedes Jones might mean something to people now and even though Gloria didn't strike her as the malicious type she'd begun to wonder. Surely a name was part of an artist's brand, why on earth would someone want to make beautiful art and not have their names attached to it? Not to mention Mercedes got a weird feeling every time she looked at the card Gloria had given her. She couldn't describe it exactly, but it was _weird_. After chasing these thoughts around her head for the best part of an evening, Mercedes had eventually chickened out and got some of the people at the label to set up the meeting for her, just in case the guy wasn't what he'd seemed.

Now she was due to meet the guy in less than five minutes and Mercedes was starting to worry for completely different reasons. _What if he wouldn't work with her? What if he would do it but demanded more money than the label were willing to pay? What if he took one look at her very un-Gloria-ish physique and refused to paint her?_ _What if, what if, what if. _

Mercedes twisted the packet with every new question that popped into her head until with one last twist the packet split open and spilled its contents onto the polished wood surface in front of her.

'Damnit!' she snapped in irritation as the sweetener skidded across the large table. She tried to sweep up the tiny granules with her hand and a napkin from the coffee service that had been placed at one end of the table as quickly as possible, aware that the guy was due literally any minute. Mercedes was bending to throw away the evidence of her mishap when she felt… _something_. Something in her body shifted as she heard the door open and close behind her with a soft click. She turned as quickly as possible, mentally kicking herself that the first impression the artist would get of her was her rear end as she straightened.

'Sorry, I…'

The words fell apart in her mouth when she turned and caught sight of Gloria's ex for the first time.

Except that it wasn't the first time.

The years had been good to him, although he'd definitely changed since Mercedes had seen him last. The pale blond hair he'd sported in high school was now back to its original dark blond and cut short. His once smooth jaw now sported a couple of days worth of dark stubble, and the black leather motorcycle jacket and loose white v-neck he was wearing clung to the hard plains of his muscles as he moved. _So he still kept himself in just as good a shape now as he did in high school, _Mercedes noted, her eyes lingering on his long, lean body. The most noticeable change was the small black gauge in his left earlobe, something that he'd always talked wistfully about doing when they were teenagers, but hadn't been able to get done before he and his family had had to move to Kentucky the summer before Senior year. Even with all the changes six years had brought, Mercedes knew that she would have been able to recognize him even if he'd been painted white in a snowstorm, something inside her just _knew_. It _always_ knew. The guy in front of her was most definitely Sam Evans.

'Cedes?'

The handle of Sam's large leather portfolio case slipped out of his suddenly slack fingers as he caught sight of Mercedes Jones for the first time in six years. He bent automatically to retrieve the case from the floor, but his mind was still fixed firmly on the woman standing in front of him. He wasn't imagining her was he? She looked more beautiful than he'd remembered, although she'd barely aged. Her long dark hair still fell past her shoulders in gentle curls and her figure seemed be fairly unchanged, if a little smaller than before, in her pink skirt and silky black blouse. Sam resolved that either he was crossing over into full-fledged delusion, or it really _was _her.

'Is that… _Mercedes?_' Sam asked again, just to be sure. His voice sounded breathless and dazed in his ears as the million and one thoughts in his head all fought to be addressed first.

Mercedes didn't know if she ought to be offended that Sam seemed to be having trouble believing it was her. Sure, she'd changed a _bit_ - it had been six years after all - but she didn't look _that _different. After a series of long discussions about her image the label had come down from their demand that Mercedes lose 30lbs after she'd once again dug her heels in and had finally compromised, requesting that she 'at _least_ tone up'. Mercedes had reluctantly obliged and had dropped a couple of dress sizes down from her high school weight, but she hadn't done anything _drastic_. In fact, Puck had assured her that she was still 'Danger: Curves Ahead' and that he'd 'tap that in a heartbeat' when she'd been down about it the last time she'd checked in with him and Lauren over Skype. The comment had earned him a smack over the back of the head from his girlfriend, but Mercedes had appreciated what he'd been trying to say.

She ran a hand awkwardly through her hair now as she tried to get over her own shock, not just at seeing Sam again, but at all the emotions that had came flooding back the instant she'd turned around and seen him. It was true that a lot of those feelings had been floating close to the surface ever since she'd started work on her album, but that wasn't even close to having him here, now.

'Sam,' his name came out sounding like a caress without her intending it to and Mercedes mentally reprimanded herself. He was here for a purpose, and it wasn't to go skipping down memory lane with her. She still wanted him to do the artwork for her album and she wasn't going to let their history stand in the way of that. She was determined not to make this awkward; the meeting was about her album, not them. _Even though the album is full of songs about him, _a voice in the back of her mind reminded her, but she silenced it fiercely before clearing her throat.

'We should sit.' Mercedes invited, gesturing to the seats that had been set up for them on one side of the large conference table. She straightened the seams of her fuchsia pink pencil skirt to collect herself and guided him towards the desk.

'I… It's been a long time, Sam. I… I don't even know where to start.' She admitted lamely as he dropped his portfolio on the table and shrugged off his jacket.

_His t-shirt is short sleeved, _Mercedes registered as she watched Sam slide of his leather jacket, his biceps bunching under the fabric as he slung the jacket over the back of his chair, _Lord have mercy this was not going to be easy, _she had started to forget that she was trying not to let their history show almost as soon as she'd opened her mouth.

'Honestly?' Sam confessed, his green eyes meeting hers for a brief moment. 'Neither do I.'

He waited for Mercedes to have a seat before he settled into his own chair and turned to face her. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off her, not that he wanted to. He wanted to take in every detail, every change, every curve of her. It had just been so _long. _

The last time they'd seen each other was the morning he'd left for Kentucky. Mercedes had shown up at the door about an hour before they were due to leave, even though it had been the early hours of the morning. Sam had been glad to see her, to feel the contented calm that he always got from being with her even as he knew that the clock was winding down on their borrowed time.

He'd wordlessly taken hold of hand and led her to a park not far from where he'd been staying and sat her down on the bench where they'd sat so many times before to watch his brother and sister play. They'd sat quietly together on the park bench, lost in their thoughts as they held onto each other's hands like a lifeline. Neither of them had known what to say, but they didn't need to. They'd been communicating without words for almost as long as they'd known each other, so Sam was sure that Mercedes knew all the things he didn't know how to articulate the same way he knew all the things she couldn't find the words to say.

He'd clutched her hand tightly in his as they'd watched the early morning fog roll back across the wide expanses of green, knowing that it would still be rolling here even as he was driving away from Lima. This fog would be in Lima longer than he would, Sam worked out, and he had clutched Mercedes' hand tighter at the thought. He hadn't wanted to go. He still wished he hadn't.

The park had been almost deserted that early, so Sam had indulged his imagination and told himself that the rest of the world didn't exist, that he could sit holding Mercedes' hand forever and never, ever have to leave her.

But then the sun had begun to spill over the tops of the trees and the first of the morning joggers blew past them, music blaring in her headphones and the illusion had been lost. Sam had known then that his time with her was up, but before he'd walked her back to the motel he'd guided Mercedes to the tree they'd used to make out behind when they hadn't wanted Stevie or Stacey to see and pulled a penknife out of his pocket. He'd carved their initials into the wood, marking it as their spot and declaring his love for her forever in the only way he knew how.

There had been very few kisses that morning, but a lot of hugs. Sam had held her in his arms as they'd both cried and he'd whispered soothingly in her ear as he held her. Mercedes had cried into his chest until the very last moment before he'd had to leave and then stood on tiptoe to kiss him goodbye for the last time before he'd climbed into the car with the rest of his family and they'd peeled out of the parking lot. He'd cried freely for the first time in the car ride away from her, his head pressed against the glass as the scent of her rose faintly from his shirt.

They'd decided to make a clean break of it, but Sam had kept up with her anyway via their friends and facebook for a while. The pain he'd felt when he'd first heard that Mercedes might be seeing someone else was nothing compared to seeing the pictures where she was tagged with the new guy on facebook. "Mercedes Jones is in a relationship"– _and not with him. _

Sam had started to withdraw after that. Even hearing about her from other people felt like too much, so after a while he'd stopped contacting the people he'd known from McKinley, and as work or school got more demanding the people he'd once considered family stopped trying to contact him too.

Sam blinked back the memory and wondered at seeing Mercedes again after all these years. The label representative who'd set up the meeting had only said that she had 'a client' on the label who was interested in meeting to discuss potentially commissioning him to design their album artwork. Sam had agreed to the meeting because he was a struggling artist-slash-bartender, and the kind of work they were talking about could earn him a _lot _of money, not to mention some priceless exposure, but he hadn't ruled out the possibility of turning the job down. He knew that whether or not he'd take the job would depend on how he felt about the artist in question, and what they'd want him to do.

All that had gone out the window when Sam had walked in and seen Mercedes. He knew now that he'd take the project regardless if they offered it to him without hesitation. _**If**__ they offered it to him_, he thought warily as he recalled the art he'd brought with him. He wondered then how Mercedes would react when she saw it. Maybe if he'd known it was her he was meeting he would have chosen different pieces, but there was no denying that what was in his portfolio was his best work, it just might not be what she was expecting.

'How have you been, Cede?' Sam asked after a short pause, 'How bout we start there?'

Mercedes shot him a relieved smile and nodded.

'Ok.' Mercedes bit her lip as she tried to figure out where to start, 'well,' she said with a deep breath. 'I guess I've been good. I've been in LA for about five years but I'm still getting used to it. I think it's going to take some time.'

Mercedes tried to laugh, but her voice betrayed more sadness than she had wanted to let show. She didn't add that she'd felt at odds ever since she'd first moved to LA, like she'd forgotten something important that she couldn't quite work out, and that most days it left her feeling uneasy and distracted. She was pretty sure that it was what stopped her from feeling 100% at home in LA, even after all the time she'd spent living here. It felt like the right city for her, and it was _definitely _the right college, but it felt like something was missing, and for the life of her she could never figure out _what_. She couldn't feel it now, anyway, she justified even though she still felt weird not telling Sam the whole truth. _Old habits die hard, _she thought, maybe she didn't mention it because she was finally starting to settle in, Mercedes hoped that was the case.

'Uh… I went to USC' she continued, 'and graduated with a Bachelors degree in Popular Music last year. Two months into my Junior year I signed to the label. I spent the last two years working on my debut album, which is done, but now I'm trying to find the perfect art for it, which is hopefully where you come in.'

Mercedes caught Sam's eye and smiled as she hunched her shoulders up in a hopeful expression that made her look about five. Sam thought it was adorable, but he tried not to let it show.

'The label put together some stuff,' Mercedes explained, 'but it… here let me show you.'

She stood and reached across the large table for her bag, and pulled out an A4 sized folder from inside it before she sat down again.

Sam's eyes had zeroed in on Mercedes' exquisitely rounded rear end, displayed to perfection in that tight pink skirt she was wearing as soon as she stood. He couldn't help it, he mentally defended, it was like her ass was a magnet and his eyes were steel, to try and fight it would be futile. Sam bit his lip hard and tried to think unsexy thoughts when he realized he was getting more than a little hot under the collar. _Mailman!_ He told himself as he tried to get his body under control, _Grandma Lu! _That helped a little bit, but it was hard to keep his 87 year old grandmother in his head when Mercedes was right in front of him. He could reach out and touch her if he wanted… _crap! That wasn't helping. _Sam wracked his brains for something that might help him keep his Mercedes thoughts strictly business but came up empty. _Screw it, _he thought as he scooted his chair under the table, maybe by the time the meeting was over he'd be back to normal. _Or maybe you'll be in desperate need of a cold shower, _a snide voice in the back of his mind volunteered. _Damnit, _he thought with a sigh,_ it was probably right. _

Mercedes offered him the mock-ups she'd mentioned and he took them from her with a brief smile that disappeared as he got a good look at them. He shuffled them in his hands trying to find one that was even _close _to being right. There wasn't one. Flicking through them Sam understood why she'd decided to look elsewhere. It was clear that none of these people _got _Mercedes, although he couldn't exactly say that he did after all their time apart. The ones with the photographs were nice, and Mercedes looked stunning in them, but she didn't look like herself either. Mercedes had never been able to lie when she sang, she had always _felt_ every note, and even though six years had robbed him of the authority to say so, Sam was still certain that whatever her album like, it was honest. Unfortunately, these covers weren't.

'These don't really seem… _you._' Sam put forward as he handed the proofs back to her.

Mercedes looked surprised as she took the folder from him.

'Yeah… that's exactly what I said.' Mercedes slid the folder back into her bag before she picked it up and put in on the floor next to her chair.

'I saw one of your paintings.' She acknowledged after a moment as she swiveled in her chair to face him. 'It was beautiful, Sam. Gorgeous, actually.'

'You did?' Sam's eyebrows rose in shock as he tried to figure out which one of his paintings she might have seen. The person he'd spoken to to arrange the meeting hadn't known much of anything, and Sam was suddenly desperate to hear how Mercedes had found him. 'Which one?'

'The one in _The Dark Bite Returns_,' Mercedes supplied, her eyes casting downward as she traced invisible patterns on the polished wood tabletop, 'of Gloria Kim?'

_Gloria_, Sam suppressed a groan.

'You met Gloria?'

Mercedes nodded, the ghost of a smirk on her face.

'Yeah, she gave me your number, although she wouldn't tell me your name.' she shot him a gracious smile. 'I think I see why now.'

Sam leaned forward, interest making his gaze seem sharp and alert.

'You didn't know it was me?'

Mercedes shook her head. 'No, I didn't. I think she was the only one who actually got the connection until just now. All I knew then was that the painting was a present from an ex.'

Mercedes tried to keep her face straight, but Sam could read the disappointment in her eyes as she looked at him.

'That doesn't sound like you, Sam. You used to be a whole heart kind of guy.'

'I still am!' Sam rushed to assure her, her disapproval weighing heavy on his shoulders. 'Gloria just happened while I was trying to convince myself that I wasn't.'

Mercedes studied his face for a minute before she nodded and looked away. She absentmindedly picked up another sugar packet from the coffee service and began to tap it against the tabletop as she thought of the part she hadn't mentioned, _that Gloria had told her he was still in love with an ex_. Mercedes knew she had no right to feel the sting of jealousy, but she did. Sam was still a whole-heart guy, wholeheartedly drawing pictures of his ex-girlfriend. Mercedes let out a sigh.

'Ok.'

She continued to spin the sugar in her fingers as she began to wonder what the ex in question looked like. The boy had dated every colour of the rainbow if you added Gloria to her, Santana and Quinn. Maybe his ex was South Asian, Mercedes considered, she didn't think he'd dated anyone South Asian… but then, six years was plenty of time when you looked like Sam.

'I brought my portfolio…' Sam offered after a moment had passed without her saying anything. Mercedes started out of her reverie and looked at him for a moment as if she didn't quite know what he was talking about, but then it evidently came back to her and she nodded profusely.

'I'd like to see it.' she smiled at him, but it was faraway and didn't quite reach her eyes.

Sam pulled the large leather case towards him and grabbed for the zip but his hands started shaking around halfway as he remembered what was inside.

_Like ripping off a band-aid, _he coached himself with a hastily drawn breath before he flipped the case open. The case contained three A3 sized paintings, and Sam quickly arranged them on the conference table in front of him without looking at them. He didn't have to, he knew every brushstroke and line by heart anyway. His hands had worked on them for hours at a time until his eyes had grown blurred and heavy - he'd wanted to make sure every detail was perfect, but he still hadn't done her justice.

Sam heard Mercedes' soft intake of breath as she caught sight of the paintings for the first time, but he couldn't bring himself to look directly at her just yet. He watched her in his periphery as she held a hand over her mouth. It looked like she was shaking, but he didn't want to turn and see for sure until she said something, he wanted to know what to prepare himself for.

Sam shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans as he waited anxiously for Mercedes to process paintings. It was something he did when he was nervous, and to say he was nervous now would be the understatement of the century.

The first two paintings were innocent enough, or at least, as innocent as his paintings ever got - he tended to paint his subjects with an edge.

The first painting was split into two halves. The top half was painted black with a stylistically rendered small boy carefully cutting a paper heart into pieces that fell steadily into an open box at his feet. The lower half was painted white, and showed a young girl, about the same age as the boy and drawn in the same style. She was sitting in a similar position to the boy in the frame above her and also had a paper heart in her hand, but she was ripping hers into small pieces in her hands, the torn pieces lying scattered around her. The whole piece was completely black and white apart from the hearts and the heart fragments, and although Mercedes could tell that it was Sam's work, the style was so different from the painting she'd seen in the comic shop that she was almost convinced that she wouldn't have put the two together had she not known they were by the same artist.

The second painting was a pencil and charcoal drawing of a young man from the waist up, his head distorted as if in movement. He himself was drawn in shades of grey, but around him Sam had painted tiny details in a kaleidoscope of colours. There were so many details that Mercedes didn't take in any of them at first, until one thing in particular caught her eye…was that a _tilt-o-whirl? _Then Mercedes was examining all the other details Sam had painted with clarity dawning on her. This was their relationship. All the tiny moments that had made up their short summer together were represented in Sam's tiny precise strokes. He must have spent _months _on it, Mercedes realized, maybe even longer. Unconsciously her hand went to her chest as she thought about Sam working on this, spending all that time hunched over this canvas as he painstakingly painted every detail of their time together. Mercedes forced herself to stop thinking about it, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to take it if she did, so she turned her attention to the last painting in hopes that it would take her mind off the revelation that was hovering on the edge of her consciousness.

Mercedes' eyes flicked to the last painting.

The third painting… _Oh God, the third painting. _As soon as she looked at it Mercedes felt the resolve she'd been trying so desperately to hold onto shatter into a thousand pieces.

Sam had been feverish when he'd painted it. Literally. He'd gotten ridiculously sick not long after he'd broken up with Gloria and had been laid up in bed with a fever of 102_._ During that time he'd drifted in an out of febrile dreams filled with Mercedes and he'd been forced to confront feelings that he'd kept long buried. He'd painted the split canvas just before he'd gotten sick, but on the last night before his fever broke he'd gotten up and painted the third painting. He'd painted her exactly as he saw her in his mind, beautiful and fierce, but at the same time soft and lovely, sweet and pure hearted.

Sam had fallen back into bed and slept through the whole of the next day as his fever came down, so he didn't get a good look at what he'd done until a couple of days later when he'd finally felt strong enough to set foot in his studio again. At the time he'd barely remembered painting at all, just vague visions of him and Mercy together that he'd thought were dreams, but over time it had started to come back to him, remembered fragments that eventually revealed themselves through his post-fever haze.

Sam looked at the painting now, trying to see it through Mercedes' eyes.

It was a couple in profile. The woman was dark-skinned and luminous, and she had her arms wrapped around the torso of a taller, fair-haired man as she clung to him, pulling him to her in a searing kiss. Her jet-coloured hair was long, loose and studded with flowers as it tumbled around her shoulders, and one of the man's hands was bunched in it as he kissed her. His other hand was wrapped tightly around her waist as he pulled her as close to his body as he could.

Their kiss was desperately passionate and they clung to each other as smoky tendrils ghosted forward from the edges of the painting and wrapped themselves around the lovers' limbs. Patches of light had already begun to peek through in the spaces where the restraining mist had already succeeded in forcing them apart.

It was most definitely them - him and Mercedes. There could be no doubt about it. Sam had painted their break up through the lens of his fever-addled mind, and the result was both sensual and heartbreakingly beautiful.

Mercedes hand quested towards the painting, but she pulled back before she touched the thin canvas, her hand going instead to meet the other one covering her mouth as she tried desperately to keep her emotions in check.

These paintings were all about _her, _or rather her and Sam_. _It probably wouldn't seem that way to anyone who didn't know their history, but _she _knew. Mercedes' eyes flicked from one painting to the next before starting the cycle all over again._ This was how Sam saw her._

Sam began to tap the back of his chair nervously as he watched Mercedes regard his art. Her eyes lingered on the third one and he _wished _he knew what she was thinking, but her expression was unreadable as she dragged her eyes from one painting to the next.

After a few more minutes had passed Sam's nerves got the better of him and he spoke.

'I…' he started and ran a hand through his hair, 'This probably seems really weird to you.' He tried to meet her eyes to see if he was getting through to her, but they were still glued to the paintings in front of her.

'It's just that… I…' _can't stop loving you _his mind supplied, but he didn't complete the thought out loud. Instead he trailed off, not knowing what to say to make her understand the motivations behind the work in front of her.

He refused to lie to her, but Sam really didn't want to overload her, and he could see now that the whole thing was a lot to take in. They hadn't seen each other in six years and he had a feeling this might _already_ be too much to deal with in one go. That was if she'd ever see him again, what must she think of him? They'd dated for a few months six years ago and here he was still making artwork about them together. Sam suddenly saw himself as Mercedes must see him now: pathetic.

Pathetic and obsessed - what a wonderful combination. He shook his head, at least now he could comfort himself that she thought he was talented. Pathetic, obsessive and talented. What a catch…

'I'm sorry.' He apologized as he began to collect up the paintings, 'I neverexpected that you would see these.' His voice sounded low and ashamed, a discovery that made Mercedes pulled her eyes away from the paintings he was gathering to regard him properly. She took in the downward cast of his head and the way his shoulders slumped, and then she finally comprehended what he was doing.

'Don't.'

Her voice was hoarse as the word forced itself out of her mouth. She rested a staying hand on his upper arm as he turned towards her, his face impassive.

The eyes Sam turned on her were guarded as he waited for her to continue and Mercedes was saddened when she saw that her boy had built new walls. _Six years is a long time, _she told herself again, it was beginning to sound like her mantra.

'I just…' her eyes flicked back to the paintings in his hands and she took a steadying breath. 'I just need a minute.' She explained, unable to pull her gaze from the paintings for very long. 'To process.'

Mercedes took a deep breath and looked up at him, his face still unreadable as he looked down at her.

'Can you give me that, Sam?' she pleaded, 'Just … give me a moment to get my head around this and then I'll come back and we'll talk about my album art. Ok?'

Sam was still for a moment before he nodded and Mercedes let out a tense breath as she dropped her hand from his arm and turned away. She walked quickly to the door of the meeting room, but he was already there ahead of her, holding the door open so she could pass through. _Ever the gentleman, _Mercedes thought as she slid past him, stealing a brief look up at him through her lashes as she passed. They didn't touch, but Sam could still feel the crackle between them in the moments when she came closest to him. It was like a jolt of electricity, or a connection between them that seemed to stretch the further she went from him. _Stretched but didn't break,_ Sam mused as he watched her go, realizing as he clicked the door shut behind her that _it never had._ Even throughout the years they'd been separated he'd had this dim sense of her, like an awareness in the back of his mind that he'd been unable to shake. He'd spent so much of his time feeling like he'd forgotten something important that he'd almost gotten used to it. Now he knew what it was: his connection to Mercedes.

Mercedes stopped outside the door and ran shaking hands through her hair.

_This was insane._

She had so much she needed to process that she didn't even know where to start. It was Sam. Sam Evans. Her first love. The guy she'd never truly gotten over… the guy who'd inspired pretty much every song on her album. Mercedes started to feel the beginnings of a headache coming on as she tried to figure out how they'd got to this place. She'd gotten lost and ended up in his ex-girlfriends store, where she'd somehow managed to pick out the _one _thing in there that had his mark all over it.

Mercedes shook her head, the whole thing was just so _random._ And now he was _here, _back in her life, looking gorgeous as ever with a table full of proof that he hadn't gotten over her either. Mercedes blew out a breath. The universe did _not _mess. It had well and truly thrown the man back into her path, but Mercedes the human was going to need a little more time to get her head around all of this than that.

Mercedes headed to the ladies bathroom and dropped her hands to the cool porcelain of the sink as she stared at herself in the mirror.

She looked shell shocked.

The last time Mercedes had looked in this mirror she'd been giving herself a pep talk, encouraging her reflection to be firm about what she wanted and not to let the artist she was meeting push her around. She sighed and leaned closer to the mirror, if only she'd known half an hour ago to prepare herself for what she knew now.

Mercedes grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser on the wall, ran it under the cold tap and dabbed it on her face, tossing it into a nearby trashcan when she'd cooled down enough to get her wits together. She leaned closer to the mirror again to check that she hadn't done a number on her make up but it was still flawless under the expensive lighting. _Too bad she wasn't holding up so well on the inside. _

Mercedes felt like she was falling to pieces. Six years apart and Sam could still mess with her emotions like no other, she snorted as she ran a manicured finger under her eyes to catch the tears before they ran tracks down her cheeks.

Nothingcould have prepared her for Sam Evans walking through that door today, _nothing_. Although, it probably would have helped if she hadn't spent the last two years coming to terms with the fact that she still loved him as she wrote for her album. She'd had two relationships since Sam, both of which had lasted longer than the summer they'd spent together, yet neither of those relationships had meant anywhere near as much as the one she'd shared with Sam.

Mercedes had tried to write songs about those relationships, but the label had rejected them all as 'too generic'. She'd thought she was being as honest as she knew how to be until the night she'd gone to bed, exhausted and frustrated, and dreamed nothing but her summer with Sam. Mercedes had relived every moment with perfect clarity, and when she woke up the next morning she'd spent hours writing with a huge smile on her face before she'd even gotten out of bed. She'd written her album over the course of the next three days as she finally let herself admit that she'd loved Sam. Acknowledging her feelings for him had allowed her to breathe, and as soon as she'd stopped trying to suppress that part of who she was her own sound had come through loud and clear. The label _loved_ it and so had the critics.

Mercedes suddenly felt like a hypocrite. Sam's feelings were literally out on the table and yet she was still trying to keep hers close to her chest. She'd known the instant she'd seen him that she'd been kidding herself when she talked about loving Sam like it was in the past tense. She still loved him, and even though she'd always known that, part of her was still terrified of what Sam would think when he finally heard her album. Then there was the other part that had slowly started to assert itself when she'd seen those paintings. _Hope._

'Just play it by ear.' Mercedes told herself quietly as she pulled open the bathroom door and headed back to the meeting room.

'Hi.' Mercedes breathed as she stepped back into the meeting room again.

Sam's head snapped round and he scrambled to his feet as she entered, his eyes shining with fear and expectation.

'I..'

'I'd like you to do my album art.' Mercedes interrupted, her voice sounding a lot more steady than she felt, 'If you'd like to, that is?'

'Yes, I'd like to!'

Sam practically tripped over his own words as he rushed to accept and they both giggled.

'I'll have someone talk to you about fees and contracts and stuff.' Mercedes explained, as she began to feel more comfortable with him, 'I don't really know much about that side.'

Sam just grinned and nodded as she talked, the voice in his head screaming that he was going to be working with Mercedes again, _Mercedes. _He felt like he was in a daze, and for a panicked moment he wondered if the whole thing was just another fevered dream, but then Mercedes held out a hand for him to shake and he knew there was no way he could dream up the tingles that went down his spine at the contact, or the rush of blood in his ears when he looked at her. He gave her hand a brief squeeze before he let go, still trying not to overload her. Sam shrugged his jacket back on and went to gather his things.

Sam's eyes caught Mercedes' as he turned back to the door, his portfolio in hand. He smiled tentatively at her and was relieved when she smiled genuinely back. Feeling reckless, Sam bent down and kissed her gently on the cheek. It was meant to be platonic, but things between them never really worked out that way and he felt his heart speed up at the contact, being close enough to smell her perfume was giving him a headrush. She still wore the same perfume, Sam recalled, closing his eyes as he inhaled the scent.

Mercedes caught his eye when he pulled back and shook her head at him, a small smile playing on her lips. Sam became aware of the fact that she'd known exactly what he was doing, and the fact that she'd allowed him to buoyed his spirits even as the bashful smile spread across his face. He paused with one hand on the doorknob to tip her a little mock salute before he cracked the door open to leave.

'Wait!'

Mercedes ran over to her bag where she pulled out an unlabelled CD in a clear plastic sleeve and handed it to him, her fingers not letting go even after he took hold of it.

'It's my album.' She explained needlessly. 'You should probably listen to it to… you know, get some ideas' Sam nodded, his eyes on hers as he gently tried to pull the CD out of her fingers, but she wouldn't relinquish it.

'For the artwork.' She added and Sam nodded again, his eyes locked with hers.

'Mercedes…'

'Don't upload it to anywhere.' Mercedes urged, 'Don't leave it anywhere someone could leak it.'

'I know.' Sam smiled reassuringly, but Mercedes seemed to be having some internal battle with herself over letting him have the disc. Maybe it was because after she gave it to him it would seem like their deal was final, he guessed and instantly wanted the disc even more than before, but her grip on it was still vice tight.

'Mercedes…'

'I know you wouldn't do that.' Mercedes was saying, 'Or at least, I don't think you would. But, you know, I'm just saying… just… in case, because sometimes people do and…'

'Mercedes Jones!' Sam said firmly and Mercedes abruptly stopped talking, looking up at him with wide eyes. That was when he knew something was wrong, because the Mercedes Jones he knew would have gone all diva on his ass by now, even if it _had _been a while.

'Do you not want me to have your album?' Sam asked gently as he looked down at her, his green eyes gentle.

'No…'

'You don't sound sure.'

'I...' Mercedes looked down at her hand as if she'd hadn't been aware of what she was doing and promptly let go of the disc.

'I'm sure.' She promised as she crossed her arms over her chest, but the gesture seemed more protective than determined. 'I guess... I'll see you soon.'

Sam looked carefully at her before he very deliberately reached up and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. It was something he used to back when they were dating, when Mercedes had started to over think things and stress herself out. It was his way of wordlessly communicating with her, '_calm down, it'll be ok. I've got you, and we've got this', _and after a while the gesture had become enough to calm her down on its still was. Mercedes leaned into his hand slightly, her eyes fluttering shut for a brief moment before she leaned away again and Sam took his hand away.

Concerned eyes scanned her face until he was assured that she'd be ok, then he crooked a small tender smile at her, turned the doorknob and stepped out of the room.

'Bye, Cedes. I'll be seeing you.'

Then he turned a corner and was gone.

Mercedes stood underneath one of the giant boards at her launch party and looked at it. Six weeks had passed since that first reunion with Sam, and the work that he'd produced for her was phenomenal. Boards like the one she was looking at of the full versions of the album art were set up around the room, and Mercedes had already heard more than one person at the party complimenting it. She hoped that at the very least that Sam would get a bit more work come his way as a result of his collaboration with her, but she had a feeling he'd be in demand as soon as her album hit the stores.

It had been awkward between them at first, six years of baggage had made them wary, but even so they'd both fallen back into the easy friendship they'd once shared remarkably quickly.

_Although_, Mercedes supposed, _the five-hour sitting she'd done with no one but Sam for company probably helped_. The truth was that Sam had been one of her best friends _as well as_ her boyfriend when he'd left for Kentucky, and as their relationship hadn't ended due to any ill will on either side it hadn't taken much for them to grow close again. He had more of an edge now, a result of stripping to help out his family and then pay his way through college she'd learned, but underneath it all he was still the same dorky guy she'd hung out with in Ohio. He'd texted her and invited her out with some of his friends one night, and even though she'd deliberated over making their relationship more than strictly professional, after a long argument with herself she'd decided to go and had been surprised to find how well she got on with all of them. Since then they'd found more excuses to associate with each other outside of work, and they'd spent more time together in the past six weeks than she ever would have guessed during the awkwardness of that first reunion.

Neither of them had addressed their relationship, although she sensed that Sam was going to soon. It was painfully obvious that their love hadn't gone anywhere, and Mercedes knew that Sam could see that too, but she'd used the album as a shield to avoid talking about it. Now the album was out, and she was running out of excuses. Mercedes didn't know why she was being so stubborn. Her album was a declaration to the world that she still loved him, and heaven knew she never felt as content as when she was with him, but she was scared. Her heart was already settling in and buying comfy slippers, but her brain wasn't so sure. It needed more to go on, and at the moment it was winning.

Mercedes knew she needed to have a conversation with Sam. What she needed was assurance that he would stick around this time, she knew that it had never been his choice to leave, but deep down she still needed to hear him say it before she could let herself believe it. He'd wrecked her the first time he'd left, and she didn't know if she could take it a second time if she gave her heart over to him and he broke it. It was a conversation they needed to have, but she was so scared that he didn't love her the way that she loved him that she couldn't bring herself to ask. Mercedes wasn't sure how much longer she could keep doing that.

'Sham-pag-ney?' Sam asked, doing an impression of Zapp Brannigan from Futurama to make her laugh as he handed her a flute of champagne. She accepted it with a grateful smile as they both turned to regard the board of his artwork.

'You did an incredible job, Sam.' Mercedes told him earnestly as she turned her head towards him. 'It turned out even better than I dreamed it would. It's perfect.' She beamed up at him before ducking her head to take a sip of her champagne. Thinking that she better go easy on it, or she'd be in serious danger of jumping him, whether he loved her or not.

An automatic smile stretched across Sam's face as he watched her. His friends swore that he'd smiled more in the past six weeks than he had in the four years that they'd known him, and Sam was inclined to agree. He was smiling all the time now, even when she wasn't around, just because he knew that at some point she _would _be around. Mercedes simply had that effect on him, she always had. With her he felt like he had an ally, a partner to see the world with, he'd missed her more than he could ever say.

Sam dipped his head in gratitude as he turned to look at the print again. He didn't want to ruin her night, but not knowing if she felt the same way was _killing_ him. Sam was secretly terrified that once the excuse of her album was out of the way Mercedes would fall back out of his life again. Tonight was technically the last night he could guarantee seeing her, she was leaving on a three week press tour tomorrow, and if he didn't find out where they stood before then he was pretty sure he was going to go crazy. He couldn't take another six years of not seeing her again.

'We… should probably talk.' Sam said without turning from the board, he wasn't really seeing it, but he was pretty sure it was the only thing keeping him steady as he prepared to put his heart on the line.

'We already talk, Sammy.' Mercedes said on a laugh, reaching up a hand to slap at his arm good-naturedly.

'I know we talk.' Sam pointed out, his face responding to her smile automatically with one of its own, 'but I mean we should _talk _talk. You know… about us.'

His voice had gone quiet at the end there, but even though the party was loud he knew that she'd heard him. Panic crossed her face as she turned to look at him and Sam felt his heart pick up painfully in his chest.

'This isn't really the time…'

'Mercedes?' A mousy woman in a headset and glasses tapped Mercedes on the shoulder, glancing down at her clipboard to double check the details before she continued.

'You're on in five. If you come with me we'll get you miked up.'

The woman whispered a belated apology to Sam for interrupting as she passed, an arm around Mercedes' back as she herded her towards the backstage area. Mercedes was going to preview some of the songs from the album, all of which he now knew by heart, but excited as he was to hear her sing live again, Sam couldn't help but wince at the timing. If he knew Mercedes, which he was pretty sure he did, she was going to try and put off the discussion they so desperately needed to have until the whirlwind of press and guest spots made it impossible. She was going to be a success, Sam had always known that, but after listening to her album he was even more sure. There was no way the world could ignore a talent like Mercedes', and pretty soon he'd be seeing her face on every TV channel and every billboard, he just wanted to know if that was the _only _place he'd get to see her.

Mercedes' album sounded even better live, and Sam felt tears spring to his eyes as he listened to her sing. He wasn't usually an overly emotional person but he still remembered how he'd felt on that car journey away from her that summer morning as he'd let the tears stream down his face. He'd thought about all the things he'd never have with her again. He'd thought he'd never hear her voice or laugh again, never get to hold her or be delighted by one of her rare, but usually spot on, impressions. He'd thought he'd never get to watch her sing again. Six years ago in a car driving away from Lima Sam would never have guessed that he'd be standing here now, listening to Mercedes Jones sing again. _God has laid a hand, _Sam thought, and offered up a quick prayer of thanks, adding to it another prayer for the future, that the coincidences and assistance that had got them to this point wouldn't fail him now that he was _so close _to having her again. He couldn't imagine his life without Mercedes Jones in it anymore. He _wouldn't. _

Sam was content to stay in the background for most of the night as Mercedes dazzled everyone in the room, although he was grateful to her for talking up his artwork. He'd already had a couple of people come up to him and express an interest in commissioning him off the back of it after Mercedes had pointed him out, but he didn't make an effort to make himself known, although Mercedes had encouraged him to. This was her night, and he was perfectly content to sit back and be proud of her as she owned it. As the party wound down, and everyone prepared to go home, Sam took his chance and approached Mercedes.

'Hey.'

'Hey.' Mercedes smiled up at him as she said goodbye to a couple of the departing guests and walked towards him.

'So… I was wondering if we could have that talk now?'

'Sam…'

'We haven't addressed our… _feelings._' Sam plowed on, 'and I think things are going to get really uncomfortable between us if we let things go on as they have.'

Mercedes felt like she was going to be sick. _Not here, _she prayed fervently, _please don't reject me here._

'I don't want to lose you, Cede.' Sam was saying, 'I love being your friend, but I feel like there's something else between us that we're not talking about.'

Mercedes shook her head which made Sam frown as he kept talking.

'I'm not going to pretend anymore, Mercedes, the truth is that I…'

'No.' Mercedes shook her head and backed away from him. She would _not _get her heart broken at her album launch party. She would not have to go out and talk about her album, and look at the damn cover only to have it tainted with more pain. _No._

'I'm not doing this now.'

'Why _not.' _Sam looked irritated, but she could tell that he was trying to keep his irritation at bay and be understanding.

'Why do you keep running away from this conversation, Mercedes?' Sam asked, the frustration finally getting to him and making his words sound harsh. 'What are you so _scared _of?'

'_You._' Mercedes snapped back and instantly regretted it, the hurt that sprang into Sam's eyes was immediate, he recoiled from her as if she'd slapped him.

'Not like that.' She said quickly, knowing that he'd misinterpreted her words.

'Do you have any idea how much you hurt me when you left, Sam?' Mercedes tried to keep cool, but the memories he was dredging up weren't helping her case. She held up a hand to stop his protests.

'I know that it wasn't your choice to leave, Sam, but it still _hurt, _Sam. Like a _bitch_.'

Sam clenched his jaw as he folded his arms across his body and looked away from her.

'Not so hurt you didn't hook up with someone else a month later.' He muttered, but he knew she'd heard him.

He hadn't meant to say it, but she'd acted like she was the only one who'd been hurt when he left, and she hadn't. From the looks of things, _he'd_ been the one who'd been hurt the most by their separation.

'_Excuse me?_' Mercedes' expression was dangerous as she dared him to repeat himself.

'You heard what I said.'

Sam spoke quietly as he brought his head around to meet her glare for glare. He didn't _want_ to be doing this, he'd been trying to tell her he _loved _her, for crying out loud. Yet somehow their discussion had turned into this argument and he was too stubborn to back down.

'You know what?'

Mercedes glared coldly back at him for a moment before she put her champagne flute on the tray of a passing waiter and turned to leave.

'I'm not doing this.'

Mercedes stormed out of the function room and down the hall jabbing her finger angrily at the elevator call button and stepping in when it arrived almost immediately. She was grateful the elevator was empty, she had the feeling she was about to cry and she appreciated the space. She _shouldn't _be crying, she told herself angrily, she hardly _ever _cried, and yet every, damn time seemed to be over Sam Evans. He got under her skin like no one else and she couldn't get him out now even if she tried. Maybe she _would _try.

The doors were about two seconds from closing before Sam ran down the hall and slipped through before the doors breezed shut.

Mercedes focus her attention on the wall beside her stubbornly, refusing to turn around even though she could feel Sam's eyes on her.

'What?' she bristled eventually when he didn't look away, jerking her head around to meet his gaze.

'Why won't you answer my question?' Sam asked, as if she hadn't just stormed off and refused to talk to him.

'Because.' Mercedes answered obstinately and heard Sam choke out an irritated sigh.

'Because _why?'_

'Just because!'

The volume of their voices had been rising as they got more heated until Sam snapped, brimming with vexation as he barked out at her.

'God _damnit, _Mercedes! You won't talk to me about how we feel about each other so why can't you at least tell me how you _felt? _Huh? Is it so _God damned __**hard **_to tell me how you managed to get over us so quickly when being apart from you was _**killing**__ me? I was _in love _with you, Mercedes! God help me I'm _still _in love with you._'

Sam leaned back, a mixture of fury, surprise at his own words and hurt on his face as he tensely repeated his query in a quietly measured tone.

'Why can't you just answer the question?'

They glared at each other until abruptly the lights in the elevator cut out and flickered on again as the car ground to a halt.

'Oh _great!' _Mercedes fumed when she'd figured out what had happened. 'Now I'm stuck in an elevator with _you, _Mr. _'Answer the question'_! You want me to answer the question?'

Mercedes demanded, anger heating her like a furnace.

'Ok. _Fine._ You _really_ want to know how I got over you so badly, Sam?'

Mercedes let out a short laugh, but it had no joy in it.

'The answer is: I _didn't!' _Mercedes laughed bitterly, 'I never have! I felt like someone _ripped my heart out and dragged it half way across the country_ and I couldn't _tell_ anyone because we were a stupid _secret _and I didn't ask you before you left if I could talk about it and _who would I have even told?_'

Sam's jaw clenched as he took in what she was saying but Mercedes wasn't done.

'I was a _shell _when you left, ok? I was a mess! But I had to put a happy face on it and pretend that I was fine, so _excuse me _for taking comfort where I could find it, ok? I _never got over you_, I just got really good at _pretending_ I did.'

She looked so hurt, and Sam wanted to comfort her so badly that he'd balled his hands into fists at his sides to keep from reaching for her, but his mouth had a mind of its own, and he was blurting out the question still weighing heavy on his mind before he could stop himself.

'Then why won't you talk about us?'

Mercedes reeled back, tears in her eyes as she stared disbelievingly at him.

'If you want me out of your life then just _say _it.' Sam went on, trying to sound firm even as he pleaded with her. 'Don't torture me with this…' he waved a hand, '_whatever the hell _this relationship is. I can't take that. I still _love_ you, Mercedes, but if you don't love me back then just _say it. _Be a woman about it and put me out of my god damn misery.'

Mercedes looked at Sam like he'd grown an extra head as she tried to work out if he was making a really badly timed joke or if he was serious.

'Oh my _God, _Sam.' She breathed, her voice incredulous as her eyes roamed his face to see if what she suspected was _actually_ true.

'Do you _honestly_ think that you're the only one still in love?' She caught his eyes, not believing that he really didn't know. 'Did you even _listen _to my album?'

'Of _course _I listened to your album!' Sam bristled, 'I listen to that album every _day_.'

'Then how do you not realize that it's about _you!' _Mercedes demanded,_ '_Every. Damn. Song is about _you, _Sam. How can you not see that?' she questioned, her eyes searching for something to help her understand.

'I…' Sam fired back before he blinked, 'Wait, what?'

'Ugh!' Mercedes threw her hands up in frustration and went to prop herself up against the wall at the back of the elevator, looking at Sam expectantly until he joined her.

'The album is about you, you dummy.' She repeated after a moment had passed. 'I never stopped loving you, either.' the affection in her voice was plain as day as she leaned her head back against the wall and fixed her gaze on the unyielding elevator doors in front of them.

Sam turned to look at her in shock as he mentally replayed her album in his head, a smile began to form on his lips as snatches of remembered lyrics drifted back to him.

_He should have known._

Actually, he was pretty sure he _had _known, but he'd been too afraid to believe it just in case it came crashing down around his ears. He'd been _so _jealous when he'd listened to it, but he hadn't been able to _stop _listening because it was _Mercedes, _and because her album was phenomenal, even if it did make him want to kill the guy she was singing about. A wide smile spread over his face at the discovery that the guy was _him. _Sam felt a lot better about him now. He reached out a tentative finger to touch the hand hanging next to his and followed it with a few more fingers when she didn't move away, eventually taking her hand in his. Relief washed over him when Mercedes wrapped her fingers around his palm.

'_Dance Like You're Drunk_?' he asked in a quiet voice, naming one of the livelier songs on her record.

'Prom.'

'_Morning Dew_?'

Mercedes shot him one of wordless glances and Sam nodded sadly as he understood.

'The morning I left for Kentucky.' he stated flatly and Mercedes nodded, leaning her head against his shoulder as she took a calming breath and studied the hand linked with her own.

'Yup.'

They were silent for a moment and then Sam started to sing.

On her album the song had a slow sultry beat, but Sam didn't bother to make one as he sang.

'_Come drown over me,_

_Take my breath out to the sea_

_The sand of you and the tide of me_

_As the winds howl out our names_

_Lover_

_Then dance me home again'_

Mercedes blushed deeply as Sam sang her own song to her. _Drown Over Me _had almost not made it onto the album it was so personal, but she'd been convinced that no one would know exactly who it was about, even if they got the meaning. Even her friends from New Directions didn't know, not even _Quinn_ knew. No one except her, and now Sam.

'It's about our first time.' she admitted burrowing her face against him as he grinned, feeling strangely pleased that the so-called 'baby-maker' on the record was about the first time they'd had sex with each other.

'_Heart beating like a freight train_

_Drive me home, but I'll come back again.'_

_Give me a taste of the sweetest sea_

_As you drown, drown over me'_

'Well,' Sam breathed, thinking smugly of the lines about being stronger and mightier than an oak tree.'It's good to know I made an impression.' Sam admitted, then cocked his head at her the way that he did before he teased her. 'Oak, huh?'

'Shut up!'

Mercedes emerged from his side to slap him against the chest but Sam just laughed heartily as he watched Mercedes do an awful job at pretending to be outraged. He'd been scared that their argument would have ruined things between them, but it only seemed to have made them stronger. _Except_, he realized, _they _still_ hadn't talked about what they were doing._

'So,' Sam started, looking down at their interlaced fingers, and placing a kiss on the back of Mercedes' hand as he quested for clarity. 'We've been in love with each other for the past six years... and we both knew this when we met all those weeks ago.'

Mercedes nodded, her head on his shoulder, 'and I want to be with you...and you want to be with me?' his voice rose in question at the last part, but Mercedes nodded to that too.

'But it's taken us until _now _to work all this out?' Sam asked as happiness welled inside him, _she wanted to be with him. _He thought back to her earlier words; she'd said she had_ always _wanted to be with him. Sam sighed and dropped his head back against the elevator wall. _How had they managed to make things so complicated?_

'What is _wrong _with us?' he asked without taking his eyes of the ceiling and Mercedes laughed and snuggled closer to him.

'It's kinda the adult way. Once you get past a certain age you get really good at overcomplicating stuff and being too scared to take risks.'

'Well, it sucks.' Sam concluded, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek and nuzzle into her neck, smiling to himself when she squirmed and giggled.

'We should do something youthful to compensate.' Mercedes suggested in a way that made him think that she had something a lot more grown-up in mind than prank calling.

A mischievous smile crossed Sam's face as he leaned over, sliding a hand along Mercedes' jawline to trace the curve of her cheek with one long finger.

'Wanna make out in an elevator like horny teenagers?' He whispered huskily in her ear, dipping his head lower to nip at her earlobe and neck before he placed soft butterfly kisses against the column of her throat.

'I thought you'd never ask.' Mercedes moaned as she threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled him gently up to meet her mouth. Sam groaned against her plump lips and leaned his body into her as he trailed one hand up her thigh. Smiling to himself when he heard her breathing hitch as his hand dipped beneath the hemline of her short silver dress. He deepened the kiss, sweeping his tongue around her mouth as he caressed her upper thigh and dropped his hand down to cop a feel of her deliciously round butt… just as the elevator started to move again.

'Ever the ass man!' Mercedes laughed as she pulled away from him to catch her breath, her cheeks flushed from the activity. Sam cursed under his breath but couldn't complain too much, if the elevator hadn't have stopped in the first place he would never have got this far with Mercedes, so he supposed he should be grateful. Mercedes eyes glinted with lust and mirth as she pressed her hands to her cheeks and fanned herself in an attempt to cool down before the doors opened. Sam's grin turned impish as he peeled off of her, prolonging the contact for longer than was necessary before he gave her butt an experimental squeeze. Mercedes squealed and aimed another light smack to his chest but Sam just smirked at her.

'Sorry, I'm not sorry.'

Mercedes tried to roll her eyes at him, but he had her pressed against the wall before she could finish the action, placing heated kisses on her collarbone, neck and face as she giggled and traced her hands up his sides. Mercedes slid her hands under his shirt to skitter across his abs as her tongue peeked out to lick his lower lip.

'_Abulous_' she whispered as she sucked the lip she'd just licked into her mouth, and Sam chuckled, surprised that she remembered. He gave her her one last lingering kiss before the elevator doors slid open and they both tried to look innocent.

**A YEAR LATER**

'I can't believe I get two whole days off in London!' Mercedes enthused down the line when she called Sam that evening to catch up. She was coming to the end of the European press tour for her album and the last leg was in the iconic English city.

'I'm so excited, but I have _no _idea what to do.' She laughed, and Sam's voice crackled low over the phone line as he joined in.

'Wanna play a game then?' his voice was so low and intriguing that Mercedes found herself sitting up a little straighter against the headboard with interest.

'Sure. What kind of game?'

There was a pause at the other end of the line as Sam thought about it.

'I guess it's like a blind tour. I'll guide you from here and you go look at stuff for me. That way I can live vicariously through you.'

Mercedes didn't even have to think about it, knowing Sam he'd manage to find the most beautiful spots in the city even while he was on the other side of the world to her.

'Ok.' She agreed, 'but you should come with me next time I come, too. I miss you.' Sam could hear the longing in her words and found that his own voice held a note of regret when he replied.

'I know, Beautiful. I miss you too, but it's only four more days before I get to see you again, and I'll talk to you a _ton_ tomorrow.'

Mercedes sighed and dropped her head back against the headboard.

'Four days still seems too long.'

'We managed six _years_, Beautiful.'

'_Exactly.' _Mercedes complained, 'I don't wanna do that again.'

Sam's deep chuckle washed over her as she closed her eyes and imagined that he was next to her instead of thousands of miles away in LA.

'We'll make it.' he promised as he made to end the call. 'Hahaw nìltsan, Cede.'

'Goodnight, Sam.'

Despite her diva reputation Mercedes actually tried to keep as low a profile as possible when she could, so the next day she opted to use public transport rather than hire a town car. She was grateful that she wasn't as popular here as in the US yet, so she could still go around without an escort, and she made a note to enjoy the freedom while she could.

There was a pretty significant time difference between London and Los Angeles, so Mercedes didn't expect to actually talk to Sam until the early evening, but when she checked her phone she was delighted to find a text from him waiting for her.

**Morning, Beautiful! First stop is Bank Station. When you come out walk down Grocer's Hall Court until you reach Poultry (that's a street, the British are weird.) then keep walking until you end up on Cornhill. Stop when you get to a big white building with columns outside.**

Mercedes shook her head at Sam's cryptic instructions but set off towards the station with a smile on her face, following the directions he had given her until she'd reached the building in question. It was _huge _and beautiful, with intricately carved figures occupying its façade and gold lettering stenciled across the top.

_**I'm here. **_She texted Sam. _**The Royal Exchange, right?**_

Sam texted back a few moments later.

**Right Go inside. You should find a store called 'Boodles', go in and tell them your name. They should give you something. DON'T open it.**

Mercedes frowned. This was a deviation from the sightseeing tour she'd thought she was doing, but she trusted Sam so she followed his instructions and went along with it. She was surprised when she saw that the store Sam had mentioned was an upmarket jewellery store and texted Sam as much, sure that he'd made a mistake.

**I know. **He sent back, **Go in and tell them your name.**

A weird feeling started in the pit of her stomach and Mercedes had a hard time resisting the urge to peek when the staff in the store handed her a black gift-style bag with the store name written across it in simple white lettering. She took hold of the ribbon handle and noted that the bag was sealed shut with a sticker. Mercedes was almost desperate to peek inside, but she pulled out her phone instead as she thanked the staff and left the store, texting Sam to say that she'd done it and was going to have some lunch, he sent her back a swift reply telling her to enjoy her meal and drop him a text when she was done. Mercedes chose to eat lunch at the Royal Exchange, taking an hour to soak up the atmosphere before she gathered her things and was ready to be on her way again.

**Ok, back on the train. **Sam texted back when she let him know she was done, **Get on the Waterloo and City line to Waterloo and then change for the train to Embankment. Come out the left exit.**

Mercedes did as he'd instructed and stepped out of the station, relieved to see the Starbucks on the corner, she'd pop in there on her way to wherever Sam directed her next, she figured, suddenly craving a Caramel latte more than anything.

**Resist the Starbucks, Merce. The Caramel Latte can wait a sec. See the flower seller on the corner?**

Mercedes laughed as she read his message. The boy knew her _too _well.

_**Yes.**_

**Go up to her and say 'My boyfriend says pink pansies are lovely this time of year.'**

_**What?**_

**Just do it, Jones.**

'Rudeness.' Mercedes shook her head as she went to talk to the woman at the flower stall, blushing as she said the phrase Sam had instructed.

_**She gave me flowers! **_Mercedes texted as she waved goodbye to the florist, smiling as she held the flowers to her chest.

**Wow, that was nice of her.**

_**Like you didn't have something to do with it.**_

**I plead the fifth. You can go to Starbucks now.**

Mercedes sniffed the purple peonies in her hand happily. Her boyfriend was getting mighty bossy, but she secretly loved it. She couldn't believe that Sam had gone to all the trouble of arranging this for her. He must have known that she'd be missing him like crazy after three weeks on the road and wanted to do something to surprise her. _I'm surprised, _Mercedes thought as she pushed open the door to the coffee shop and smiled at the barista behind the counter.

'Can I have a Soy Caramel latte, please?' she ordered without having to look at the board, the barista nodded and went to work fixing her drink, but when she tried to pay her the woman flat out refused to take her money.

'It's already taken care of.' She said with a warm smile, 'someone already paid for it, they said a girl holding a bunch of purple peonies would come in and order a Caramel latte.' The woman shrugged, 'I guess that's you.'

Mercedes smiled in bewilderment as she accepted her coffee and took a seat at the window while she drank it, picking up her phone to text with one hand.

_**I love you.**_

**I love you too. Do you have your coffee?**

_**Yes.**_

**Good. One Starbucks looks a lot like the other though. Why don't you drink it outside? Head through the gates on your left.**

Mercedes let out a little laugh and went outside, climbing the paved steps outside the Starbucks to pass through a pair of innocuous looking black iron gates.

… It was like stepping into Narnia.

Mercedes was in a small park. Well-manicured lawns extended away from her, and vibrant flowers and thick hedges lined the walkways and hid the enclosing walls from view. The place wasn't deserted, but it still felt like she'd stumbled on a secret garden hidden away in the middle of the bustling city. Next to a _train station_, of all places… Mercedes thought. She felt like she was in a fairytale.

She smiled and gave her head a disbelieving shake as she took a seat on one of the many benches that were dotted around the park. A family of blue tits hopped around in the foliage like fat little balls of colour against the dark green of the hedge. Mercedes watched them as she rested the flowers and Boodles bag beside her on the bench, clutching her coffee in both hands to take a sip. It really was beautiful, and for the first time since she'd started her European press tour Mercedes was able to relax. After a moment or two she fished her phone out of her pocket to text her boyfriend, but it started ringing almost as soon as her fingers made contact with it.

She beamed as soon as she saw who was calling her and unlocked it as quickly as her fingers could manage.

'I love you.' she said immediately in lieu of a greeting when she answered.

Sam's laughter made her insides go gooey and Mercedes knew she must have a huge dopey grin on her face, but she had a feeling that wherever he was Sam's smile was just as wide as hers.

'I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of hearing that.'

'I wouldn't want you to.' Mercedes leaned back against the bench and sipped at her latte, savouring the last few sips in the bottom of the cup.

'I'm just getting done with my coffee.' She explained to Sam as the blue tits flew away, only to be replaced a few moments later by a couple of magpies.

'Awesome.' Mercedes could hear the smile in Sam's voice and it made her own spread wider across her face. How did this boy still do this to her?

'Do you like the park?' She forgot for a moment that he couldn't see her and nodded.

'It's beautiful!' she enthused. 'I actually can't believe I'm right next to a station. There are birds singing, and _no _walls that don't look like they're made of flowers. It's so peaceful. There are people just chilling out talking and drinking their coffees together and stuff.' A note of sadness crept into her voice, as she added quietly 'I wish you were here with me.'

Sam sighed down the phone, wishing he could be there to hold her but knowing that he couldn't.

'We'll be together soon, Cede.'

'I know.' Mercedes let out her own cleansing sigh as she tossed her now empty coffee cup in the bin, excitement coming over her again as she asked, 'So, what's next?'

Sam thought for a moment before he answered, and Mercedes wondered if maybe he was checking stuff out online. Perhaps he'd send her to a show or something. The sun was starting to go down and Mercedes didn't think Sam would have her walking around on her own at night. He could be fiercely protective at times, and she guessed that this would be one of them.

'It's getting dark there, right?' Sam checked, and Mercedes laughed to think that he might be reading her mind.

'Yeah.' Mercedes giggled, sensing that he was pulling his '_humouring you'_ face.

'Ok, well. Come out of the park the same way you came in. Back towards the station.'

Mercedes gathered her things from off the bench and went where he'd directed, but this time she had him on the line and could ask questions.

'How do you know all this stuff?' she asked as she walked, 'I thought you'd hadn't been to London before?'

'I haven't.' Sam assured her, 'But Google is a wonderful thing, and God bless Street View.' He added.

Mercedes smiled down the phone as she reached the entrance of the station again.

'Ok, I'm at the station now, am I getting back on the train?'

'No.' Sam assured her. 'Keep walking straight ahead, under the bridge and then turn left and left again.'

Mercedes passed under the bridge, looking around her as she went.

'You know there's like a scuba diving store here!' She pointed out incredulously, 'It's so random, I swear there isn't an ocean for _miles_.'

Sam laughed, 'Maybe they go scuba diving in the Thames?'

Mercedes scrunched up her nose in disgust as she laughed.

'That's just gross, the water is _brown.'_

By then she was turning the final corner and as soon as she got a good look at what lay beyond it she stopped dead and just _stared_.

It was London. That was the best way she could describe it. The view of London that you always saw on the postcards and illustrations: The London Eye, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament all stretched out in a panoramic view along the river. Across from her she could see gorgeous old buildings with gold detailing, nestled next to more modern looking architecture. One of those had a scrolling screen atop it that announced the latest productions being performed at one of the famous London theatres and Mercedes watched it until the feed started to repeat itself. The best part, was that the setting sun had stained the sky shades of dusky pink, burnt orange and a rich purple. It looked like an artist had laid out the city especially for her and painted the sky to match.

'I… _wow, _Sam.' She breathed, not trusting her voice at full volume yet as she made her way to the waterfront.

'Tell me what you see?' Sam asked quietly, and she described it as best she could, knowing that Sam, the artist, would have done a much better job, her voice faltering as she tried to imprint the image on her brain forever.

'There are sphinx statues, right?' Sam asked when she was done.

'Uh huh.'

'Go to the second one to the left from the boat.'

Mercedes followed the river in the direction Sam had mentioned, turning her head to the other side to take in the leafy pavements and tall plinths containing statues of people she'd probably never heard of. She stopped when she got to the second Sphinx and looked around, wondering why Sam had had her come here specifically. Mercedes hadn't gone far enough for the view to be significantly different, but there _was _a small bench on a slightly raised platform so she sat down on it as she asked Sam what he wanted her to do next. It was kinda funny to her how quickly she'd gotten used to taking Sam's directions, it wasn't something she could imagine standing _all the time, _mind you, but she trusted him, and so far she'd had a wonderful time and seen parts of the city she would never have traveled to otherwise.

'You there?'

'Yep. What now, Captain?'

'Hmm,' Sam purred into the phone, 'I just got _all kinds _of Spock/Uhura fantasies.' He admitted, 'I could _definitely _get used to you calling me that.'

'Sam!' Mercedes protested, blushing profusely as Sam's voice and words made her body react in ways that couldn't be satisfied for _four whole days_.

'Spock wasn't even captain for all that long.' she pointed out as she tried not to think about what those fantasies might entail. 'Captain would be Kirk.'

'But he _was _Captain.' Sam protested, amusement in his voice. 'and Spock's cooler. Besides, I want you _monitoring my frequency._' his voice dropped to an intimate growl and a shiver ran down Mercedes' spine.

'_Sam!' _

'Ok, ok!' Sam laughed, sensing that Mercedes would not do well with that line of teasing. 'Now you can open the Boodles bag.'

Mercedes let out a delighted squeal as she seized the bag, eager to finally know what was inside the bag she'd resisted peeking in all day.

She unpeeled the fancy label that sealed the luxury black paper bag together and reached inside for a small gift-wrapped box within it. Her heart was beginning to beat harder in her chest as she held the box in her hands, almost not wanting to open it because of the weird feeling that came back full force as she held it, the butterflies in her stomach picking up the pace as she slid the top off of the black box decorated with white ribbon.

The box held a small velvet drawstring bag, again printed with the white Boodles logo and Mercedes prised it open with shaking fingers.

It was empty, or at least, Mercedes thought so before she wiggled her fingers inside and pulled out a small roll of lavender coloured paper. She unrolled it with suddenly clumsy fingers and nearly dropped the phone when she saw what was written on it in Sam's large, artistic handwriting.

_**Will you marry me?**_

Mercedes couldn't breathe, a hand flew to her face in shock as she stared down at the note in front of her and let out a startled, delighted laugh.

'Well, will you?' Sam asked, and it took her a second to realise that the voice wasn't coming from the phone still clutched in her hand.

She instantly turned to look for him, a tap on her right shoulder causing her to look in that direction first before she turned around to find him on her left, kneeling on the pavement next to the bench with a velvet ring box in his hand. Mercedes shut off the phone and managed to drop it into her purse with trembling hands without once breaking eye contact with Sam. He was wrapped up warm against the winter chill in a black wool coat and the dark purple cashmere scarf she'd bought him on a whim. He looked like the best, sexiest, most handsome thing she'd ever seen, and he was going to make her cry. Sam's green eyes were apprehensive as he knelt with the ring box extended to her.

'Mercedes Jones,' he started falteringly, his voice finding strength as he repeated the question written on the paper still clutched in Mercedes' hand.

'_Will you_ _marry_ _me_?'

Mercedes cupped his face in her hand as the happy tears spilled onto her cheeks. One hand was still covering her mouth as she let out a stunned laugh and she looked at him for a moment, searching his face as if to be really sure that he was serious. When Sam's expression didn't change and she saw the love shining clear in his eyes she let out a noise halfway between a laugh and a sob and launched herself at him. Mercedes wrapped her arms tightly around Sam's shoulders as she showered his face with kisses and then pulled him in for a searing kiss. She pulled away before Sam could get really into it only to shower his face with more kisses.

'Is that a yes?' Sam asked on a laugh in between kisses and Mercedes leaned back to look him in the eyes, the depth of her feeling for him written all over her face.

'It is _absolutely_ a yes.'

Sam looked happier than a kid on Christmas morning, happier even than a kid on Christmas morning at _Disney World. Scratch that, _Mercedes thought, he looked happier than _Brittany _on Christmas morning at Disney World. Sam let go of her long enough to flip open the ring box in his hand and slide the round cut diamond ring onto her finger. The diamonds sparkled against her dark skin and she looked at the ring in awe for a moment before she wrapped her arms around him again.

'It's gorgeous, Sam!' she whispered into his ear, and he felt a wetness on his cheek where her skin met his. He wasn't sure if they were his tears or hers, but he _did_ know that they were tears of happiness, not pain.

'It's _perfect._' Mercedes swore, admiring the ring over his shoulder as she hugged him.

'_You're _perfect.' Sam corrected her with a soft smile on his face.

Mercedes reached up a hand to cup his cheek as she caught his eyes with hers, smoothing away his tears with a thumb as she leaned in to press her forehead to his.

'No, I'm not,' she amended as Sam reached for her again, heat in his eyes. '_But together we come close.'_

* * *

><p>Catcher dropped his head to the table and slowly and repeatedly banged it against the hard surface. He had been <em>so close<em>, he groaned, _so very close, _but then the damn elevator had broken and given them all that time to _talk _and work out their _feelings. _Catcher wanted to be sick. He'd thought it would be easier if they were adults, and in a way it had been. Their stupid belief that they always had to 'think about things' and 'make the right decisions' had put them well on the path to a lifetime apart, but then it had all gone wrong.

Catcher had really thought that this was going to be his best bet. _All that baggage… _Catcher thought longingly. He'd had Her to himself for longer this time though, he consoled himself, feeling oddly resolute about the whole thing. That had been nice. She'd been just like him for a while, an observer, not a participant. He understood that, he understood _Her, _much better than that blond athlete ever would, Catcher thought bitterly. That dick had come along and ruined everything, just like he always did. But, Catcher thought with a small smile, he'd gotten closer this time, and next time he was going to succeed. He was going to get Her to himself _forever. _No interruptions.

* * *

><p>Hahaw nìltsan = Sleep well<p>

**Phew! That was a behemoth of a chapter to write! I hope you guys enjoyed it and weren't disappointed. I had to take it in a slightly different direction to the first chapter because they're so much older and have all their _issues, _but don't worry the next chapter is a lot lighter, and nowhere _near _as angsty.**

**I also wanted to say thank you _so _much for all the reviews, alerts and support for this story. They really do make my day!**

**Also, if anyone is wondering what Sam's art style is like, I imagined it as a cross between the styles of John Bolton, James Jean and Banksy.**

**A link to see what Mercedes' ring looks like is on my profile.**


	4. Edit 3: Home

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of the songs mentioned within this work. All rights go to their respective owners.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Home<strong>

It came to him one day in a flash of inspiration.

Catcher had been writing some other person's chronicle when he'd suddenly had a thought occur to him.

_Sam and Mercedes had grown closer once Sam had become homeless. _

It was _that_ event that had started _him_ on the path to becoming the man She fell in love with, hadn't it? _He_'d stopped caring so much about popularity after he'd lost everything, and then there was all the early morning coffee runs, the babysitting... all those study sessions in the dark intimacy of that motel room... playing at being a family and attended to his younger siblings...

_Really,_ Catcher's face scrunched up in revulsion,_ it was no _wonder_ he had managed to win her over _that_ way, _but without Sam's homelessness... there would be no need for them to spend more time together. No reason for _him_ to begin to look beyond Her surface...

Catcher smirked to himself as he discarded the chronicle he was working on and went to reclaim Sam's from his inattentive Chronicler. As soon as Catcher had the volume back on his desk in front of him he readied his seraphim quill, and began to unwrite the original story, blowing off the dust as he went. He was certain that _this _edit would needs be his last.

* * *

><p>Mercedes was really <em>trying<em> to have fun at prom, but it was hard. Pretty much all her friends had come with dates, and she felt like a third wheel if she hung out with any of them for too long. It was obvious to her that they all wanted to snuggle and be romantic with their partners and Mercedes was getting in the way. It was _exactly_ what she'd suspected would happen... and what she'd wanted to avoid.

Mercedes had had a series of long discussions with her mother about not wanting to go to prom. She'd spent heaps of time carefully laying out her reasoning for staying home but her mother had been adamant that Mercedes would regret it if she didn't go. _Adamant. _

Eventually, fate had come down on her mothers' side when the New Directions were booked to perform - which ultimately guaranteed that she_ had_ to go, regardless. So Mercedes had told herself that she would have a _wonderful _time, dutifully picked out the dress and bought the heels, made sure her hair and make-up were on point and then, when prom night had arrived she'd stood at the top of the staircase, taken a deep breath and smiled brightly as she descended so her parents could take a _ton_ of pictures like the proud parents they were. Mercedes had smiled and posed as her parents took photo after photo that would go in family albums, be sent to all her relatives and get trotted out and shown to anyone who so much as set foot in her parents' house - pictures of a smiling Mercedes Jones on her way to her first prom, all dressed up and all alone_._

After her parents had taken about a million and one photographs, Mercedes was finally allowed to get into her car and drive herself to the dance. Her dad had offered to take her, but that would have made her feel like even more of pathetic than she already did so she'd politely declined the offer. Plus, driving herself meant that she could at least go home if things got a bit too much. Mercedes didn't want to be a Debbie Downer or anything, but as far as she was concerned the whole thing was like another Valentine's day; an obnoxiously in-your-face reminder of how single she actually was. Mercedes would rather duck out early than put a dampener on anyone else's evening, she really was happy for her friends and they deserved to have the perfect night she wanted for herself.

Maybe if they'd gone as a group instead as individual couples, Mercedes mused, maybe if there wasn't so much tension between everyone because of the Prom Queen elections… She sighed and wrapped one of her dark curls absentmindedly around her finger, watching it spring out again when she released it. She'd probably sneak out as soon as she'd fulfilled her obligation to be there. Maybe if Artie came back she'd stay longer, he was actually really fun to dance with when he wasn't mooning over Brittany, but he'd disappeared a while ago and she hadn't been able to find him.

So now Mercedes was sitting alone at one of the big round tables as she cradled a cup of punch and watched her friends slow dancing with each other.

She was happy that they were all happy, although the way Finn kept eyeing Rachel over Quinn's head made her worry that there might be trouble ahead for her soul sister. Perhaps being single wasn't so bad, she considered as she watched Rachel give Finn a wistful look over Jesse St. James' shoulder. Rachel always acted so put upon and unloved, but she had _two _guys who wanted to be with her. Hell, in _Run, Joey Run _she'd had _three. _Mercedes dropped her eyes to her shoes to keep from getting misty eyed, just _once _she'd like to be the one having the Cinderella moment under the corny paper streamers, just _once, _instead of always being the girl on the outside looking in. Mercedes stared at the contents of her cup for a second, wondering if she was so emotional because of the night, or if someone had spiked the punch with gin. Usually she was a happy drunk, but gin never failed to make her weepy. _Speaking of weepy drunks… _wasn't she due to sing with Santana sometime soon? Mercedes fished her phone out of her purse for a quick time check, she had a half hour before she was up and then afterwards she could go home and maybe watch a movie or something - prom wasn't really doing it for her this year.

Sam was really not having the greatest time at prom. He'd brought a date, a short redheaded girl on the Cheerio squad named Robyn, but the girl had spent more time making sure that everyone noticed them together than she had actually _talking_ to him. He was beginning to get tired of it.

Sam had thought Robyn was nice enough at first. They'd gotten together while he was still reeling from Santana's unceremonious dropping of him for Karofsky, and the little Cheerio had seemed sweet and attentive. Robyn would toss her hair over her shoulders and smile engagingly up at him whenever Sam passed her in the hallways, and she'd always make a point to complement him on his football skills after practice. Sam hadn't know her well, but he had the vague feeling that she was a nice, quiet kind of girl.

When news of his break up with Santana had gotten out, Robyn had shown up at his locker offering her sympathies, she'd hugged him and showed real concern for how he was holding up. Sam had been touched by the kindness of her gesture.

'I don't get why Santana would do that.' Robyn had told him with confusion dancing across her pale freckled face. 'You're like, _way _cuter than Karofsky.'

Then she'd carefully reached out a slender manicured hand and rested it lightly on Sam's bicep, smiling up at him through her heavily mascara'd lashes. That was the exact moment Santana had walked past arm-in-arm with Quinn, showing _no_ concern for him _whatsoever_, and he'd thought '_screw it', _and asked Robyn out on a date.

The date itself had been ok, if Sam was being nice about it. Robyn hadn't understood any of his jokes, and she'd never even _seen_ most of the TV shows or movies he got his impressions from. Sam had been at a loss for what to say during the whole meal and in the end he'd just sat in silence and listened while Robyn talked. Which she was perfectly content to do… for the _whole night. _Robyn didn't even ask him a single question, nor did it phase her that Sam stopped saying 'uh huh' or 'mmhm' after the first hour. She'd just kept on talking about split ends, or beauty treatments. Or about some girl who'd worn something Robyn had declared 'hideous', or the waitress' perm_, _or make up, or _something. _It turned out Robyn complained a _lot, _and she wouldn't let him defend anyone. He'd made the mistake of saying that he thought the waitress looked pretty (because Robyn had managed to say all that stuff about how bad the woman looked while she was in earshot.) and the cheerleader had fixed him with this… _look, _like he was back in third grade being picked on for not being able to read that well (he hadn't known he was dyslexic then). Sam hadn't said anything else after that, that look had stung him more than he wanted to admit, so he'd just let her keep going while he counted down the minutes until he could go home. Sam wondered what Mercedes would say in that situation - not that he could see Mercedes dating Robyn - but he wondered how she would deal with it. Sam had noticed that she was really protective of people, even ones she didn't know well. Sam figured she'd probably call Robyn out on her BS and leave, but he didn't have the same luxury. He'd driven Robyn to the restaurant, and as much as he wasn't keen on a second date he would never just _leave_ her there, even if the evil part of him didkinda want to.

Sam had been exhausted by the time he'd driven Robyn home. He'd climbed out of the car, opened the door for her and watched her bound out like some kind of newborn lamb. Sam had wondered dimly how the girl still had the energy for that when he felt like he could sleep for a hundred years, and all he'd done was eat and listen. Still, Sam's parents had raised him better than to let any of that show, so he tried his hardest to listen and be attentive when she'd started talking again.

… But didn't she need to come up for air? He wondered. Wasn't her throat tired? Maybe she drank a ton of water so her throat never got dry? Surely, _that much water _would make a person have to pee a _lot_. Maybe she did, Sam considered, or maybe she had some kind of special power that allowed her to consume her own weight in water and never have to go. Maybe she was the real life version of Mr. Freeze from The Incredibles… only she'd be Ms. Freeze, he guessed. Sam wondered if Robyn would choose the path of villainy, or if she'd choose to be a hero. Maybe she'd try and get famous and _then _learn that 'with great power comes great responsibility'? _Just like Peter Parker!_ Sam smiled genuinely for the first time that night at his round about thought processes took him from Robyn - who had never read a comic in her life - to Peter Parker, arguably one of the greatest comic book characters _of all time_… Next to Batman. Sam stipulated. _Maybe._ Except Batman had messed up motivations, and then there was his favourite underrated hero, Captain America…

Sam didn't realise that he'd stopped listening to Robyn until he'd missed most of what she'd said. He hadn't _meant_ to - he'd actually been trying really hard to listen - but his mind just wouldn't stay on her no matter _what _he tried.

'This was fun! Wanna go to prom together?' Robyn had said at the end of a run on sentence, and then stood looking at Sam expectantly until he'd guiltily realized that he'd zoned out and missed what she'd said.

'Um… sorry, what did you say?'

Robyn's nose scrunched up at his words as she tipped her head to the side.

'You're shocked that I asked, right?' Robyn queried, her ponytail swinging gently. 'Because girls don't usually ask guys, but I figure, life's too short for that stuff you know?'

'Uh…' Sam had been completely lost, 'Right, but…'

'Right!' Robyn had carried on before he could point out that that wasn't what he'd meant… 'Plus if _I_ don't ask then some other girl will, right?'

'Uh…' Sam said again, feeling like someone had just pulled the rug out from under his feet. 'I… guess?'

'Exactly!' Robyn leaned back as if he'd just said something profound and beamed at him. The way she was looking at him was making him feel uneasy.

'So?'

Robyn fixed him with piercing blue eyes that made Sam think sympathetically of those poor animals that managed to wander onto freeways. He figured he had a lot in common with them right about now.

_Crap, she wanted an answer! _Sam realized when Robyn continued to look at him pointedly. He'd thought the talking was bad, but the silence was most _definitely _worse.

_And she_**still**_ hadn't told him what the damn question was._

'So…' Sam repeated before trailing off, hoping that Robyn would take his cue and fill in some of the blanks.

'Prom…' Robyn copied his tone, looking at him like he was a simpleton.

'Yes…?'

'Great!' Robyn squealed in a cheery voice, before she pecked him lightly on the lips and bounded inside her house, leaving Sam to wonder what the _hell _had just happened.

So now he was at prom with her as his date. She wasn't _that _bad, considering. There had been a few snarky comments that he'd shut down as best he could, but that didn't change the fact that they had nothing in common, and Sam _still _didn't know what to talk to her about. Robyn only seemed to want to discuss cheerleading, celebrity gossip, other students, or TV shows he didn't watch. Sam would never admit it out loud, but most of the time he was with her he was either pissed off or bored out of his brain. With Santana, he'd known that the bitchiness came from a place of love, he'd learned during the short time that they had dated that Santana was actually pretty sensitive on the inside, she had a lot of stuff going on beneath the surface that she protected with an armour of insults. Robyn was different. With Robyn he got the impression that she was cruel because she wanted to have power over someone else, and at the moment that someone was Sam. He couldn't wait for the night to be over.

Sam swayed gently as they danced, trying to ignore the fact that Robyn's head kept swiveling to see who was looking at them as they shuffled around in small, tight circles. Keeping his head down seemed likely to get him head-butted given the frequency with which Robyn was whipping her head to look around her, so Sam lifted his chin and scanned the room as he moved. His eyes fell instantly on Mercedes, sitting alone at a table cradling a plastic cup and looking… _sad_. Sam noted with displeasure, she looked beautiful… but _sad_.

Sam frowned as he tried to keep Mercedes in his line of vision, turning his head so he could continue watching her as the pattern of the dance turned him away from her.

_He would __**much **__rather be over there with Cedes than here right now, _Sam thought, _even if Robyn _**is**_ more popular_.

It was funny, when he'd first started at McKinley popularity had seemed really important to Sam, but after Quinn cheating on him and the stuff with Santana… Sam had started to think that maybe popularity wasn't actually all that important after all.

Take Mercedes, for example, Sam had hung out with Mercedes a lot since he'd joined glee club and he never failed to have an awesome time with her. She was one of the best people he knew - but she wasn't "popular" - surely that alone ought to tell him something. Cedes was fun, and she _always_ knew the movies his impressions came from. And she laughed at his jokes too, Sam thought with a small smile to himself.

She'd never come out and said it, but Sam knew that Mercedes didn't like being on her own. It was something he'd been able to sense in her almost as soon as he'd properly started talking to her. Sam could always sense stuff about Mercedes if he tried, even back when he hadn't known her that well and as time wore on he didn't have to try as much. Quinn had said it was because underneath it all they were so alike, but she wouldn't expand on it when Sam had asked her. He'd gotten the impression that Quinn considered her insider knowledge of Mercedes to be some kind of secret that she didn't want him intruding on. Still, Quinn's unwillingness to share did nothing to hinder the connection Sam felt to the pretty, dark-skinned girl. His 'Cede Sense', as he liked to call it, was the reason he'd known something was up straight away when he'd run into her buying groceries one morning by herself. At that point they hadn't known each other that well, but Sam had bitten back his natural shyness and straight up asked the girl if there was something wrong because he just couldn't shake this _feeling _he had about it. After a little prompting Mercedes had admitted to him that her parents were away at a conference for the weekend, whereas ordinarily Kurt would keep her company during instances like that, he'd told her that he had plans with Rachel and Blaine and therefore wouldn't be going over after all.

Mercedes hadn't had to say anything else. Sam had seen the hurt in her eyes despite the speed with which she'd masked it, and it was suddenly obvious to him how _lonely_ Mercedes must be. She'd done such a good job of putting up a front that he'd been sucked into it, but once he'd learned the truth… It was like Neo seeing the Matrix, now he knew it was there it was all he could see.

While they'd been dating, Quinn had talked to Sam aboutMercedes all the time, but while she'd acted protective of her relationship with Mercedes, Sam had noticed that the blonde girl barely talked _to _Mercedes anymore. Sam had pointed it out, but Quinn had just clammed up and said that 'it was complicated' in a voice that told him clearly that the topic was closed for discussion. Now Kurt was drifting away from her too and Sam knew from Quinn that Mercedes' older brother was still away at college…

'Do you wanna hang out?' he'd asked without having to think about it, he just wanted to make that horrible expression in her eyes go away. He hated seeing Mercedes sad, it did something to his insides that he couldn't describe. He'd been so relieved when the girl had accepted his offer that he'd pumped he air, earning him a side eye and a gentle laugh from Mercedes. It had been the first time he'd successfully made her eyes smile. Since then Sam had been hanging out with Mercedes more and more often. He didn't even have to ask if she wanted company when her parents went away anymore, he just showed up. He and Mercedes seemed to think on the same wavelength, and he'd discovered that his grades got a _lot _better when he studied with her. She had a way of explaining things in just the right way that it made sense, and he'd gone from pulling in pretty consistent C's and D's to getting B's and even a couple of A's in a lot of his subjects. Naturally, his parents adored her.

_He would have had a better time if he'd taken Cede to prom, _Sam accepted morosely, as he continued to sway with Robyn. He'd been thinking about asking Mercedes to go with him, just as friends, but then Robyn had happened and he hadn't been free to ask her anymore. To make matters worse, Mr. Schue had made the announcement that New Directions had been booked to play prom and Mercedes had gotten so upset that she'd walked out of the choir room. Kurt had gone after her, but he'd come back in fifteen minutes later, alone, and informed them that Mercedes had opted to go home for the day. Sam had called her later that night and spent two hours watching, and making fun of, a bad sci-fi movie they found on cable over the phone. By the time they'd said goodnight to each other Sam was satisfied that Mercedes was at least feeling a little bit better, although he hadn't broached the obviously sensitive subject of prom. Although, looking at her from across the dance floor now Sam wished he had, maybe then he could have done something to fix it. He wasn't sure _what, _but he would have tried.

As soon as the song was over Sam excused himself and disengaged from his dance partner. He had just started to make a beeline for Mercedes when Robyn grabbed at his arm and jerked him back. She was rocking a pretty strong grip for such a small person, Sam noted, impressed, as her grip on his arm tightened for a millisecond before she let go. _Must be all that cheerleading._

'Where are you going?' Robyn demanded, crossing her arms over her strapless green dress as she glared irritably at him.

_Why is she even angry? _Sam wondered as he regarded the small cheerleader warily, she was tapping one stiletto-clad foot impatiently against the hardwood floor as she glared straight up at him. Sam wondered if she knew that she very strongly resembled a three year old on the verge of a tantrum. He would know, Stacey had had a fair few of them when she was younger.

'I'm going to talk to my friend.' Sam explained patiently with a gesture across the dance floor at Mercedes.

'Uh-uh! No.' Robyn commanded, her auburn ringlets bouncing as she shook her head.

Sam tried not to sound as annoyed as he was beginning to feel but he didn't like the way Robyn was bossing him about, and why the hell didn't she want him talking to Cedes?

'Why not?'

'_Because_, Sam!' Robyn explained, waving her hand frantically as if to say '_duh!'_

Sam narrowed his eyes, still not getting what she was trying to say and Robyn pressed a suffering hand to her forehead before she lowered her voice to a harsh whisper.

'Because, Sam, _look at her._' Robyn reached up and put her hands on his shoulders, looking into his face like a coach giving a pep talk at a boxing match, 'she is _not _one of us, Sam. Look at us!'

Robyn passed a hand back and forth in the space between them to indicate them both.

'We're the _beautiful people! _We're _popular._'

Sam took a step back from the Cheerio and looked at her as if she had snakes coming out of her head. Was this woman really, _honestly_ spouting out this _shit_?

'_Cedes_ is beautiful.' Sam told her firmly, an edge of warning in his voice, which Robyn either didn't pick up on or flat out ignored.

'Yeah, _right_.'

The girl snorted derisively and looked back at Mercedes before she turned around to look at Sam again, clearly failing to register his thinly veiled anger.

'On what planet?' Robyn asked, a mocking laugh escaping her lips.

Robyn's face contorted as she sneered at Mercedes, and Sam stared at her in awe, wondering how he'd ever, _ever _found this girl attractive. _Those days are gone, _he thought with a shake of his head as she went to slip her arms around him again.

'Mine.'

'What?' Robyn pulled back, her arms extended as she tried to slip them around Sam's suddenly tense form.

'You asked me on what planet Mercedes is beautiful.' Sam stated, his words sounding clipped as he struggled to push them out through his clenched jaw.

'And the answer,' he said, carefully removing Robyn's arms from around his waist and stepping away from her, 'is _mine._'

He got a few feet away before Robyn's outraged voice halted him.

'If you go over there, then we are _done, _Sam Evans! You'll lose your shot with me. _Forever._'

Sam figured it was a good job he had his back to Robyn because he was pretty sure she would have slapped him if she'd seen him roll his eyes the way he did. _Really though? _Sam thought, _had they even been on the same dates?_ Their relationship was dead in the water before it even started. He would much rather not have done this at prom, but Sam was finally putting his foot down. He didn't care if it was social suicide, he wasn't going to stand for people disrespecting his friends, e_specially_ not Mercedes.

Robyn was doing a pretty passable impression of a fish on dry land as she watched him in disbelief. No doubt she would have started some nasty rumour about him by Monday, Sam guessed, but right now he couldn't stir himself to care about anything other than getting rid of the sad vibe he was getting from his best friend.

Sam half turned back to Robyn with a sigh, one shoulder lifting in a combination of an apologetic shrug and a wince.

'_Sorry, Rob_.'

Then he turned away from her and went to go see Mercedes.

'Hey.'

Mercedes looked up from where she'd been examining the sequins of her deep purple dress and smiled as Sam Evans approached her.

'Hi.'

Sam slid into the empty seat next to her and swiveled it around to face her.

'You're not having a good time.'

It was a statement, not a question, they both knew each other well enough not to beat around the bush, and Sam wasn't about to watch her try and do the same 'cheery girl' routine on him that she used on everyone else. They were past that, and they both knew it.

Mercedes sighed and leaned her elbow on the table.

'Not really.' she admitted, leaning forward to prop her chin on her hand, the movement brought Mercedes just that little bit closer to him, and for the first time that night Sam got a good look at _exactly _how pretty she was. He bit his lower lip and thought regretfully of his earlier choice of words to Robyn – he'd been wrong. Mercedes wasn't just beautiful, she was _stunning. _Sam felt his palms begin to sweat a little bit.

'How come?' he asked, wiping his hands along the pant leg of his rented tux.

'Everybody's partnered up.' Mercedes explained with a shrug, 'and other than when ND sing I'm kinda bored.'

She scrunched up her nose apologetically, 'How bout you? How's your night going?'

Sam grinned and propped his chin up on his fist so he was mirroring her position.

'A lot better now I'm talking to you.'

Mercedes dipped her chin, and furrowed her eyebrows at him in a look that Sam knew well.

'What! I'm being serious.' He protested on a laugh, feeling a million times more at ease than he ever had with Robyn. 'Stop giving me the 'Boy, stop' face.'

Sam imitated her expression perfectly and Mercedes cracked up, her eyes glittering with mirth as she reached up to wipe away the stray laughter tears before they ruined her make up.

'We probably spend _way _too much time together.' She informed him on a giggle, but Sam shook his head his green eyes seeming to sparkle under the low gym lighting as he grinned back at her.

'Not possible.'

_Ok,_ Sam admitted to himself as he watched the glittering reflections from the disco ball above cast tiny flecks of light across Mercedes face._ The complete, honest truth was that he'd had a crush on Mercedes Jones since the Night of Neglect concert all those months ago._ He'd tried to squash the feeling for a whole host of reasons, one of the main ones being that he was with someone else at the time. Even when he wasn't seeing anyone the truth was that Sam was more scared of Mercedes turning him down than he had been even when he'd first approached Quinn. For some reason, with Mercedes he felt like there was more to lose if she said no.

Mercedes smiled shyly at him but didn't say anything else. Instead she turned her head back to the dance floor and watched the couples swaying together under the soft lighting.

'Hey, do you wanna dance?' Sam asked uncertainly.

He'd been watching Mercedes watch the couples for a few minutes now, and yet it had only _just_ occurred to him to ask her. Sam had refrained from smacking himself in the head when he realized, but just barely.

'Are you sure?'

Mercedes dark brown eyes studied his face as she waited for his response. It wasn't that she didn't want to dance with him, it's just that she hadn't expected him to ask her. Besides, didn't he come here with Robyn? Mercedes winced as she imagined what that girl's reaction would be to her slow dancing with Sam.

'What about Robyn?' she added and it was Sam's turn to wince.

'Robyn and I have… gone our separate ways.' Sam explained mysteriously, and Mercedes suspected that there was more to the story than he was willing to share with her right now.

'You know you can't slow dance _The Robot_…' Mercedes teased in an attempt to lighten the mood, Sam chuckled and jiggled his eyebrows at her as he held out a hand to help her up.

'That sounds like a challenge.'

'Oh dear God.'

Sam chuckled at the expression on Mercedes' face as he helped her up and led her to the dance floor.

'I'm _kidding._' He promised as he guided her arms up around his neck and settled his hands on her hips.

'I'll have you know I'm actually pretty good at the slower dances.' He told her as he looked down into her beautiful face.

Mercedes never looked so lovely as when she was happy, Sam thought as he drank in the sight of her. It was like she _glowed_ when she was happy, and by being close to her he felt bathed in it. He was suddenly confronted with the revelation that, at some point over the past few months, he'd gone from having a small crush on Mercedes to being half in love with her. _And he hadn't even noticed_.

'Is that so?' Mercedes asked coyly and Sam nodded, temporarily dumbstruck by his realisation.

'This is privileged information, Miss Jones,' he started as he shrugged off the feeling and leaned down to whisper in her ear, his voice humming low and conspiratorial.

Sam paused, his breath fanning her cheek as he caught the scent of her perfume, something warm and soft with a hint of flowers. Sam inhaled it as he held her leaned close to her. _She smelled like summer_.

'But back in Tennessee…I took Cotillion.'

Sam pulled back so he could see Mercedes' face again and chuckled at the mix of joy, amusement and disbelief written on it. She let out a delighted giggle and grinned up at him, her eyes dancing.

'_Really_?'

Sam responded by twirling her out and back in again before dipping her with a flourish. Mercedes' surprised laugher made his smile grow even wider before her infectious giggles pulled him in and he joined in before righting them again. Mercedes clutched at the lapels of his jacket as her giggles subsided and she fought to get her breathing under control. Sam instinctively wrapped a steadying arm around her, his hand coming to rest in the small of her back as they stood beaming at each other like a couple of idiots. As he looked at her, flushed and happy, the feelings that washed over him forced Sam to admit to himself that he might just love her a bit_ more _than half.

The opening bars of a slow song started and Sam stepped away from Mercedes to hold out his hand.

'Mercedes, I just wanna tell you…' Sam's mouth suddenly seemed very dry. He cleared his throat and started again. 'You look beautiful. Would you like to dance?'

Sam felt the blood rushing to his head as he held out his hand to her. They were already on the dance floor, and he'd only really said it because his dorkiness tended to make her smile, but as he'd voiced the words Sam had felt their significance hovering heavy in the air around them. If her hesitation was anything to go by, then Sam was fairly certain that Mercedes sensed it too. When he'd first asked her to dance he'd been asking her as a friend, but now… now the question felt loaded, and the pause before she said anything was starting to feel like a lifetime.

After a beat Mercedes' eyelashes fluttered and a soft smile graced her lips as she lifted her hand and opened her mouth to respond.

'I…'

'I wanna go home.'

Robyn's voice interrupted the moment more effectively than a bucket of ice water, and Sam turned to look at her, incredulity edged all over his face as he wondered if he could possibly dislike the girl more than he did at that very moment. Sam reckoned that he probably could, Robyn seemed to keep finding ways to beat her own top score.

'Take me home. _Now_.'

Robyn crossed her arms over her chest as she pointedly looked Mercedes up and down before she very deliberately turned her back on the curvier girl and focused her full attention on Sam. The message couldn't have been clearer if Robyn had commissioned a sky writer: Mercedes was dismissed_. _

Mercedes took a deep breath and tried to convince herself that snatching the bitchy cheerio's updo and teaching her a very painful lesson in manners wasn't a good plan of action, but she wasn't being very persuasive. Sam's arm came around her while his eyes never wavered from Robyn's face. The petite redhead didn't even seem to notice what he was doing as she bitched at him. Mercedes didn't know how Sam had known that she was considering a smack down, but the steady way he stroked her back was definitely helping to calm her down. Their eyes met in a silent status check when Robyn stormed off to leave, but the little harpy turned back almost immediately and fixed them both with an impudent look.

'_Well? Are we __**going**__?'_

The glance Sam and Mercedes shared spoke volumes as Robyn turned on her heel and stormed out of the gym.

Sam let out a long groan as he dropped his head back and stared at the balloons and paper streamers that decorated the ceiling.

'I really don't like her.' He complained before he dropped his head back down again and turned to face Mercedes.

'But I _have_ to drive her home.' Regret was etched all over Sam's handsome features and Mercedes could read the expression in his peridot green eyes like a book; he'd much rather stay, but he was a gentleman, and Robyn _was_ his date…

'Go.' Mercedes shooed him away. 'It's ok.'

Sam shook his head as if to say that it _wasn't _ok but followed Robyn out of the gym when she came back into the doorway again to fix him with a death glare. Sam and Mercedes shared one last knowing look before Sam disappeared out the door.

Things really kicked off after Sam had left. Kurt was elected Prom Queen by write in ballot and Mercedes had been so _furious_ Puck had had to hold her back from kicking the crap out of a guy who'd had the audacity to _laugh_ when the announcement was made. Mercedes had wanted to go after Kurt when he'd run out, but Blaine had gone straight after him and she'd known that the Warbler would be more help to her friend right now than she could be, as much as it pained her to admit it.

If it had been up to Mercedes she would have left after that, but she and Santana were down to sing for the coronation dance and Mercedes felt she owed it to Kurt to be as strong for him as she possibly could. The song suddenly seemed tacky and cruel in light of the evening's events, and Mercedes had grimaced when the first bars came in but Kurt seemed determined to dance to it, so she was determined to sing it for him.

Mercedes was relieved when the song ended and left not long after, giving Kurt and extra long squeeze when she said goodbye. She didn't say anything more than that, Kurt knew she was there if he needed her. Mercedes knew that dwelling on the event would only make it worse for Kurt, so she left with fond goodbyes to the rest of the glee club and then got in her car and drove home.

Mercedes' parents hadn't expected to see her home so soon and they said as much as soon as she got in, but after she'd quickly filled them in on what happened they understood why she'd wanted to come home early.

'Sorry you didn't get the prom you wanted, Sweetheart.'

Mercedes' father was a teddy bear of a man, large, sweet and gentle. He kissed his daughter gently on the forehead as she prepared to go upstairs. He hated that the people at her school would do that to little Kurt, but then, those kids didn't see all the amazing things his baby had to offer either, so their judgement was clearly _way_ off.

'It was actually ok,' Mercedes assured him after a moment, mentally going over the brief time she spent hanging out with Sam. It had only been about twenty minutes, but it still managed to make the whole night seem worth it.

'Aside from the Prom Queen thing.' She amended, and her dad nodded.

'Well, I'm glad to hear it, Honeybear.' he smiled down at her and stroked her hair affectionately.

'Now, I'm going to bed. I'm too old to be up this late!'

Mercedes laughed as her father made a big show of getting up and stretching like he was elderly.

'Night, daddy.'

'Goodnight, Sweetheart. Don't stay up too late, church in the morning.' He reminded her as he leaned down over the back of the couch and gently shook his wife awake.

'Come on, Ronnie. Time for bed.'

Mercedes' mom revived enough to make her way upstairs, hand in hand with her husband, but she paused sleepily at the bottom step to give her daughter a kiss goodnight.

Mercedes poured herself a large glass of water before she followed her parents up the stairs, her mind still on prom. She felt kinda bad that as much as she hoped Kurt would be ok, it was actually Sam who was occupying the larger portion of her thoughts. Mercedes couldn't stop remembering the tiny details of him, the way the silk lapels of his tuxedo had felt under her hands after he'd dipped her. The look in his eyes when he'd held out his hand and asked her to dance a second time, the regret on his face when he'd looked back at her just before he'd left the gym to take Robyn home…

Mercedes flopped backwards on her bed without changing out of her dress and groaned. Sam was her _friend, _she _couldn't _get a crush on her friend, she told herself, punctuating every word in her head to drive home the point, and it was _Sam, _who had only ever dated cheerleaders. Who was she kidding? Mercedes had had a crush on Sam for _months_ now, but she'd never tell him, he'd gone from relationship to relationship and Mercedes had a rule that she never encouraged feelings towards people in relationships. She wasn't a cheater, which meant that Sam was strictly _off limits, _or at least, he had been up until tonight. Technically_, _Sam was single now. Mercedes pulled one of her pillows over her head with a groan and lay there unmoving until the sound of rain on her window stirred her.

Mercedes stood slowly and went to her closet to retrieve her sleep clothes, looking idly out at the rain as she heard another raindrop hit the windowpane.

It wasn't raining.

Mercedes brow creased in puzzlement as she went to investigate, clutching her purple shawl around her shoulders as she leaned down to peer out her window. Movement below caught her eye, and Mercedes' eyes widened at the sight of Sam waving his arms at her.

'Sam! Are you crazy?' She called down in a hushed whisper when she'd pushed her window open. 'It's,' she checked the read out on the digital alarm clock next to her bed, 'It's almost midnight, Sam.' She accused as the blond just grinned up at her.

'I know!' he whisper-yelled back at her, 'which means I have exactly…'

He pulled up the sleeve of his tux jacket and checked his watch.

'Exactly 16 minutes before prom night is over.' Sam let his arm drop and grinned up at her. 'So whaddya say?' he called up to her, 'you wanna go to prom with me?'

Mercedes rolled her eyes and ducked her head back inside her room without saying anything, which left Sam freaking out under her window for about 30 seconds of those sixteen minutes until she reappeared at the front door and looked at him expectantly.

'Prom's over, Sam.' Mercedes informed him as she quietly made her way over to the handsome boy who'd showed up at her window in a tux. She shook her head, dumbfounded at his actions even as the butterflies in her stomach went haywire, she was pretty sure she had Mothra in there.

'Not yet.' Sam contradicted, 'we still have…' he checked his watch again, '14 and a half minutes.' His eyes crinkled in a slow smile as he looked at her over his watch before he shoved his hand in his pocket and held the other one out to her.

'And what do you plan on doing for those 14 minutes?' Mercedes asked playfully as she slid her hand in his. Sam's body tingled at the contact and the nerves in the pit of his stomach decided that now was the right time start a conga line.

'Well,' Sam licked his lips and thought longingly of the Chapstick in his car. 'I didn't get my dance.'

Mercedes couldn't help it - she laughed. It wasn't a ha ha 'you're so funny', kind of laugh, nor was it a 'you're such a loser' laugh. In actuality, it was the kind of laugh you let out when you can't quite believe that you're about to get what you wanted. It was a 'dreams coming true' kind of laugh - a Cinderella laugh.

'You remember when you told me that you'd love a 'Say Anything' moment?' Sam asked as he led her to where his truck was parked at the end of the Jones' driveway.

'Yeah…' Mercedes answered uncertainly, a part of her still expecting a punch line even as her heart told her that there wouldn't be one.

'Well, I wanted to do that for you,'

They reached Sam's truck and he halted them but kept a hold of her hand.

'But then I realized that pretty much _no one _has a boom box anymore, and also that it's almost midnight so…' Sam reached inside his open truck window and picked up the iPod that connected to his car stereo, scrolling through the songs list until he found the one he wanted and pressed play. He dived for the iPod again when _Fear of the Dark _by Iron Maiden came through his speakers and frantically hit pause.

'Sorry,' he explained as the tips of his ears went red, 'Not…um…'

Sam selected the right song this time and double-checked it twice before he trusted himself to put the iPod down again and go back to Mercedes.

'You're going to have to imagine this is really loud,' Sam explained as he took Mercedes in his arms with a small lopsided smile.

'And that it's under your window…' Sam spoke into her ear as he began to sway her in time to the strings that had begun to play quietly through his car speakers.

'And that it's a boom box.' Sam concluded with a husky laugh as the sound of Joshua Radin's voice cut through the night air.

_Digging a hole, and the walls are caving in_

_Behind me_

_Airs getting thin, but I'm trying_

_I'm breathing in_

_Come find me_

Sam loved that Mercedes trusted him enough to follow his lead completely. He knew from experience that they danced well together, but that had always been for competitions and performances, this time it was for them and _only_ them. This dance was something that no one else could touch. Sam twirled Mercedes and caught her in his arms again. A slow smile spreading across his face as he pulled her into a simple box step, letting her get used to following his lead before he graduated into a waltz, swirling around under the stars and streetlights to the strains of the music coming faintly from his car.

He could feel it again, that glow that he got from being around her. Laughter lit Mercedes face as she let him guide her around their impromptu dance floor they'd made of the pavement. Sam wasn't lying, he was actually really good at this kind of dance, and he made Mercedes feel lighter than air as he spun and caught her a few times, never once missing a step or faltering with her.

_It hasn't felt like this before_

_It hasn't felt like home… before you._

Mercedes felt so incredibly safe with Sam's arms around her. Safer even than she felt with her parents. There was something about being with him that felt so… _right. _Just like the song said, when she was with Sam, Mercedes felt like she was _home. _

She tried not to dwell on that. It was a scary thought and one she wasn't sure she was ready to address just yet. Sure, Sam was doing all of this for her, but that didn't mean that he felt the same way she did. Mercedes had to be careful of her heart, if she gave it over to Sam before she was sure he felt the same way then she would be asking to get it broken.

_I know you're scared that I'll soon be over it_

_That's part of it all_

_Part of the beauty of falling in love with you_

_Is the fear you won't fall_

Sam couldn't get over how stunning Mercedes was, it was all he could do to keep up his steps and he blessed the dance instructor who had made him do the steps over and over again until they were ingrained on his brain like indelible marker. He'd hated the guy when he was a kid, but it sure seemed worth it now. Mercedes looked up at him, her dark eyes shining brighter than the stars that lit the canopy sky above them and the smile that she wore dazzled him. _I did that. _Sam thought to himself proudly, _I made her smile like that. If making her smile like that was all he did for the rest of his life_, Sam thought dazedly, _then he'd still feel like it was time well spent_.

_I know it's easy to say, but it's harder to feel_

_This way._

Sam blushed as he realized what he'd just thought just as the song came to an end. He slowed Mercedes to a stop and looked down at her, memorizing her exactly as she was now. The expression on her face, the way her long dark lashes fanned across her cheeks as she blinked, the smile that lingered on her lips…

After a moment Sam stepped away from her, taking her hand in his as he led them back to his truck.

'You're a wonderful dancer, Sammy.' Mercedes said dreamily as she followed after him.

'Thanks.' Sam rubbed the back of his neck with one hand bashfully as he accepted the compliment.

'No. Thank you, Sam. For this.' Mercedes told him earnestly as she reached up her other hand to cover the one that was already holding hers. 'I had a wonderful time.'

'But we're not done yet.' Sam protested.

They had reached his truck again and he checked the readout on the digital clock in his dash as he turned back to her.

'We still have ten more minutes of prom night.'

Mercedes shook her head incredulously but the smile on her face grew as she did it.

'You're crazy!'

Sam grinned back at her, 'Maybe, but I can't go to prom without having pictures of me with my prom date now can I?' he reached inside the cab of his truck again and pulled his arm out a few moments later holding a small digital camera.

'Are you serious right now?' Mercedes questioned him when she caught sight of the camera, her hands coming up to her face to stifle her surprised laughter.

'As a judge.' Sam deadpanned and wrapped an arm around her waist before he extended his arm to get them both in the frame.

'Ready?'

Sam leaned his head down to Mercedes' and smiled before he snapped a shot, turning the camera around afterwards so they could see both see how it came out.

'I think we can do better.' He insisted as he held the camera out again. 'Another smiling one.'

He snapped the photo and brought the camera back so they could see it again.

'Oh, I like that one!' Mercedes approved and he smiled at the childish glee in her voice.

'Me too. But I think we should do funny ones too.'

Mercedes laughed again and nudged his shoulder with her own.

'You would.' She told him affectionately, 'Ok, let's do this.'

They took photos like that for a few more minutes, pulling faces into the camera and giggling when they saw the results before Sam looked at the last photo they'd taken on screen and shook his head.

'These are awesome, but you can't see how beautiful you look in your dress.' He complained.

'Or how handsome you look in your tux.' Mercedes agreed with heat rising to her cheeks.

'I think I can fix this.' Sam tried to sound decisive, but it was hard with a grin spreading across his face at her words. _She thought he was handsome! _He set the timer on the camera and led Mercedes around to the front of his truck, where he balanced the camera on the hood and pressed the button to start the timer. Sam ran back to Mercedes and put his arms around her in the classic 'prom date' pose just as the shutter went off.

He ran back to the camera and checked the photo before he set the timer again and went back to take another one.

They did this a few more times, goofing off and pulling faces at each other, as well as taking more serious ones that they could put in their family photo albums (someday in the future when they wouldn't get into trouble for sneaking out late.)

After a while Sam checked his watch and saw that it was two minutes to 12, so he set the timer so it would go off at exactly midnight before he turned to head back to Mercedes, his heart feeling like it was about to beat out of his chest as he explained what he was doing.

'This is _officially_ the last photo of prom night.' He told her as he made his way to her and slipped an arm around her waist.

'Facing each other this time.' Sam suggested, and Mercedes nodded in agreement, turning around so she was facing him.

Sam could hear the thumping of his heart in his ears as he looked down into the face of the prom date he wished he'd taken to the actual prom. Mercedes licked her lips and Sam's eyes lingered on the movement. _Her lips looked soft_, Sam thought, _he bet they were soft. _

'Thank you for giving me my Cinderella night, Sam.' Mercedes whispered to him as they waited for the timer to run out, 'I never told anybody, but all of this...' she gestured wide to encompass the night. 'It's kind of been a dream of mine.'

She turned watery doe eyes on him. 'Thank you for making it come true.'

A tear spilled over her cheek and Sam raised a hand to wipe it away with his thumb, his hand lingering as he looked down into her face. Their eyes locked as his thumb continued to caress her cheek even after the tears were long gone. Mercedes' breathing hitched as she licked her lips again, the butterflies in her stomach that had laid low up until now springing back to life in full force.

The light on the front of the camera flashed the timer running down at the same time that Sam leaned down slowly and placed a gentle kiss to Mercedes' lips. His eyes fluttered shut as Mercedes reached up and threaded her fingers through his hair, pressing her lips harder against his as he deepened the kiss. Sam's hand on her waist pulled her tighter to him as his tongue tentatively licked her plump lower lip. Mercedes' mouth opened for him with a sigh as she blossomed under his touch like a flower.

And then the camera went off.

* * *

><p><em>No! NO! <em>_**NO! **_Catcher screamed as he slammed the chronicle shut, ignoring the cloud of dust that emitted from between the pages. She married _him. __**Again**_**. **High school sweethearts, married after college.

'How very touching!' Catcher yelled at the chronicle on his desk, 'How very _lovely _for you all!'

_Why_ did she a**lways** choose _him_? Catcher demanded to know.

Why did they keep _finding_ each other?

Anyone else would have fallen for someone else at least _once _by now. _Anyone else_ would have given up. But not these two. _Never _these two, Catcher fumed, they just kept _winding up_ together. Coincidence after _frigging_ coincidence.

This wasn't meant to happen! _Sam wasn't supposed to win!_

Catcher sprang from his chair and paced the room, muttering to himself as he walked.

Stupid, _hateful, _cursed creature that was Sam Evans! Catcher had truly thought that changing things so _he_ was never homeless would be the key to everything. In the original timeline they'd only gotten to know each other after _he_'d lost his home.

So _how _could it work out this way if that never happened?

Sam with money was meant to want _popularity. _She wasn't popular! The girl… _Robyn_ had pointed that out. _Why had he ignored her! _

Catcher wished that he could control people the way he did events. If he could do that then She would be his, and she would never even ask who _he _was. Catcher would have made it so that She would never even remember _his _name… but the limited scope of power he possessed didn't work like that, and he could never bring himself to hurt Her, not even to keep her away from… Catcher spat out the name, _Sam Evans. _Next time he'd be smarter, Catcher promised himself as he sat down to reset the chronicle again. Next time he would _win._

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><p><em>The Fear You Won't Fall by Joshua Radin<em>

**AN:** Ok, so there it is... the Prom chapter. *Takes deep breath* Thank you for reading, hopefully you enjoyed it and you aren't disappointed/mad at me!

Anyway, this will be the last update of _Magnetic_ until I've updated _Hazard_, I've neglected that story for far too long! But don't worry I will be working on them both and I'll try not to make you wait ages for an update to either story.

Once again,** thank you for all the support, reviews and alerts**. They always bring a smile to my face! Oh, and to **Koxie** - Yes, I did write the lyrics to _Drown Over Me :)_


	5. Edit 4: Mono part 1

AN: Hi Everyone, I know it's been a while, but once you see how long this chapter is I'm hoping you'll understand my absence! This chapter... it was a beast. A beast to write and possibly a beast to read. I've decided to split it into two parts, but even so it will probably take you a while because it's so long (52 thousand words!). Anyway, I suggest you grab something to eat and a drink or something.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, or any of the characters. Nor do I own any of the other pop culture references I use in this chapter. All rights go to their respective owners.

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Mono<strong>

It had been a long time since Catcher had touched the chronicles. Every idea he'd had to keep _him _away from Her seemed wrong, every prospect doomed to failure before a single word had even been written. She just kept ending up with him, every time, and no matter how many times Catcher went over past edits he still couldn't see how it made any sense. It just wasn't meant to work out that way.

That day Catcher had been writing the life of some other dull little mortal, a young man who was in love with his best friend. Unfortunately for him, his best friend never figured it out and went off and got married to some other boring little mortal and yet another love story that _could_ have been, _wasn't_.

If only he could engineer a similar outcome for Her, Catcher thought morosely, _that_ would solve his problem. Catcher waved the end of the seraphim pen in the air and watched the patterns the flames made in the sky. It wouldn't work out, of course. It never did with anyone _he _met after Her. The only way it would work was if _he _stayed with someone else and never got the chance to be with Her.

Catcher sighed and signed off the dull man's chronicle with a flourish he didn't really feel. _He _had only been with two women beforeHer. The little lesbian woman, which wouldn't work out for obvious reasons, and the blonde girl who'd cheated.

The patterns in the air got slower and slower as a plan started to form in Catcher's head. _What if he never found out about the cheating? _Catcher did some quick mental calculations and realised that his plan just might work. The blonde and her accomplice had been found out via a suspicious case of Mono, but... if Catcher could arrange it so one of their disastrous teen parties happened just a little bit earlier... YES! Catcher clapped with glee as everything seemed to fall together in his mind. If they _all _got Mono, then no one would be the wiser.

_He _would never free to date Her, because _he _would still with Quinn Fabray.

* * *

><p>Sam Evans was <em>not<em> having a good day. Some jerk had shoved him over to get the last spot on the train before the doors shut and made him late for work. Then when he'd arrived he'd discovered that his head nurse was pulling a double shift and was subsequently grouchy as hell. Sam sighed as he stared at the doctors' chart on the wall and supposed that he should be grateful that at least the ER was relatively quiet, or about as quiet as it ever got. Sam scrubbed a hand over the stubble he hadn't had time to shave that morning and wondered how long it would be before it got worse.

'We've got a woman in one with a head injury you need to take a look at, Sam.'

The sleep-deprived head nurse, Judy, didn't even bother to say hello as she slapped the patient's chart into Sam's hands, she just carried on in the same slightly bored, a lot harassed tone.

'At the very least she'll need stitches. There's blood.'

'Good morning, Judy.' Sam flashed the woman a dashing smile and shifted the chart to his other hand so he could give the little nurse a one-armed hug.

Judy kinda reminded Sam of his mom, even more so when she was grumpy, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that that her irritation made him feel that much more at home in the busy hospital. Judy grumbled, but she returned his hug with a small squeeze of her own despite her protestations. Sam smiled to himself as he took the chart and made to head over to the curtained off examination area where his patient was waiting. Judy stopped him with a gentle hand to his arm before he could very far.

'Take a bowl.' The petite woman commanded, balancing a cardboard sick bowl on top of the chart in Sam's hand. 'She was looking a little green the last time I checked on her.' Judy peered over her wire-rimmed glasses in a way that made Sam feel like she was towering over him, even though he was taller by over a foot.

'I left her with Annette, but she looks like a hurler to me.'

'You give me the nicest things!' Sam quipped, placing a hand over the bowl to keep it from flying off as he made his way down the hall, the grin lingering on his face as he flipped open the patient chart and slipped through the curtain to exam room one.

'Alright!' Sam flipped through the chart for the patient's name, kicking himself for not doing this before he'd gotten into the room. He glanced up to give the woman a reassuring smile but when he realized that he already _knew _who this woman was, he let the top of the chart flip down with a click. Sam hadn't seen the face in front of him in years, but he knew he'd be able to recognize it anywhere.

'Mercedes.'

Mercedes' head snapped up at the sound of his voice, but it looked like she regretted the action as soon as she'd made it. Her hand flew up to the side of her head almost instantly and her face contorted into a mask of pain. Immediately, Sam was in front of the curvy woman and peeling her small fingers back so he could get a good look at her injury.

Judy had been right, there was a LOT of blood, although most of it looked to be down the front of Mercedes' shirt. The gash in her head itself looked long and deep, which had Sam's stomach churning at the possibility of Inter-cranial bleeding. Sam spared a look at the young nurse, Annette, who had been charged with keeping an eye on Mercedes before Sam got there.

'How has she been?'

Annette seemed surprised to be called on, and stammered out her first few words before she hit her stride. 'Um, her speech is a little slurred but her short-term memory seems ok, she could tell me about the accident and what she was doing before she got here. She's vomited a couple of times since she's been here and it looks like she's favouring her left side a little more than her right. Other than that nothing out of the ordinary.'

Sam nodded before he turned back to Mercedes and gently probed her wound, he easily swatted Mercedes' hands away with remembered familiarity when she automatically brought her hands to her head from the pain.

'This is a pretty bad gash, Mercedes. At the least it's going to need stitches.'

'Okay.' Sam noted the slurred speech Annette had told him about and pulled his penlight from his lab coat to check Mercedes' pupils. They were different sizes. It was hardly unexpected, but Sam had hoped that it wouldn't be the case.

'It looks like you have a concussion too.' Sam sighed, 'Jeez, Mercedes how on earth did this happen?'

The small woman tried to focus on him but struggled to keep her vision from blurring as she answered.

'Super Trooper.'

Sam frowned, 'The Abba song?'

'No, ' Mercedes went to shake her head but stopped herself last minute. 'Stage light. Fell on my head.'

Sam winced, he'd seen those things - they were huge.

'Living the dream, huh?' he smiled gently into the familiar face before he stood up and began to move away from her.

'I'm going to send you for an MRI, a CT scan and an EEG to make sure there's no internal damage, ok? Don't nod.' Sam warned as Mercedes prepared to do just that.

'In the mean time I'll get you patched up and then we'll see what your results can tell us.'

Sam got up and went to collect the things he'd need to clean Mercedes' wound, forcing himself to stay focused on the task at hand so he wouldn't entertain the personal grudge he held against the woman sat on the hospital bed behind him. Sam quietly put in the request for the tests, and had a brief conversation with Judy to tell her that they'd need to keep Miss Jones in for overnight observation, just to be on the safe side.

Sam didn't even try to engage Mercedes in conversation as he cleaned her up, but between the anesthesia and the head injury he was fairly certain that she was pretty much incommunicado anyway. In his head though, Sam was saying all of the things he'd been dreaming of saying to Mercedes since she'd screwed him over in high school.

In fact, Sam was still thinking about it hours later when he fixed himself a coffee in the staff room, his hands distractedly stirring the sludge in his cup into something drinkable.

'So, this is THE Mercedes?'

Sam's best friend and fellow doctor, James McGowan's New Jersey accent came through stronger than usual as he questioned his friend, his eyes trained inquisitively on Sam as the blond sat down across from him at the small table.

'The same Mercedes who stopped you from marrying the girl of your dreams?' James continued. 'The one who made the love of your life break up with you instead of pursuing a long distance relationship? _That _Mercedes?'

Sam nodded as he stared into his coffee cup. 'I don't appreciate the sarcasm,' he complained, 'but, yeah. That's the one.'

'Wow.' James stretched a long, caramel-coloured arm behind his head and rubbed the back of his neck. 'Bet that was intense.'

'Not really,' Sam admitted, 'she was pretty out of it.' he sighed and raised his mug to his lips but didn't drink.

'I just wish I'd been able to talk to her, you know? Ask her WHY she did what she did.'

He lowered his mug again.

'And you know the worst part?' he demanded, not waiting for James to answer. 'She looked _amazing_. I mean, she was gorgeous in high school too, but now she's like...' he trailed off with an annoyed sigh. 'And it just doesn't seem right. Shouldn't she have withered up into a bitter, romance-destroying shell by now?'

Sam scrubbed his hand through his hair and finally took a sip of his coffee. 'Karma is a lie, man.'

'Whoa, there.' James' grey eyes widened as he held his palm up to his friend. 'Let's not be crazy. You just told me that you haven't spoken to her yet. She might have a miserable, lonely love life. You don't know. And completely aside from that,' James added, 'you just treated the woman for a head injury, dude.'

'Oh… yeah.' Sam frowned. 'You're right, I guess. I just wish I could have confronted her about the Quinn stuff.'

'Maybe you'll still get your chance.' James suggested, squeezing the blond doctor's shoulder as he stood. 'Listen, my break's over, but you could always get Montgomery to take over her chart for you if it's going to be a problem. You know she'd do it.' James got a mischievous glint in his eye as he sing-songed, 'She _likes _you.'

'Shut up, man!' Sam shook his head, 'I'll be fine.' he promised, before getting lost on his train of thought again. 'You know, we actually used to be pretty good friends? Mercedes and I, I think that's why it sucks so much that she told Quinn to break up with me.'

James raised an eyebrow at Sam as he stood in the doorway, a faint smile playing on his lips.

'You know, there's a thin line between love and hate, Sam.'

'What's _that_ supposed to mean?' Sam asked, not in the mood to play guessing games.

'It means that it's been, what, ten years? But you're still talking about her, bro.'

'I thought I was going to marry-'

James shook his head, his storm grey eyes serious even as his mouth quirked into a teasing grin.

'I'm not talking about Quinn.'

James ducked out the doorway and was gone before Sam could respond, but the blond instantly dismissed James' words as ridiculous anyway as he chugged down the last of his lukewarm coffee. Sam didn't have feelings for Mercedes. That was ridiculous! He'd never even _dated _Mercedes. He was just mad at her for wrecking his future with Quinn. If Mercedes hadn't come along then Sam would have been happily married by now, he'd probably even have a few kids to go home to. Instead he was married to his job, didn't even have so much as a _girlfriend, _and kids seemed like a distant pipe dream. So what if he'd had a crush on Mercedes during high school? It hadn't meant anything, and she'd turned against him anyway, so they obviously wouldn't have been suited. And he'd had Quinn. There was that too.

Sam sighed and threw the empty coffee cup in the bin as he got up and headed back to the ER. His heart beat a little bit faster as he realized that, at this very moment, Mercedes Jones was somewhere in the same building as him. Sam frowned at his reaction and then shrugged to himself, his heart was only beating faster because he was angry, and having her somewhere in the building meant that he was that much closer to calling her out on what she'd done.

'So, how come you didn't tell us that patient was an old friend of yours, huh?' Maria, the head nurse on duty demanded the following day as she and Sam stood at the nurses' station filling out paperwork. 'She's adorable, and she told me she's single...'

_Hah! Karma!_ Sam thought, and then felt bad for it.

'You'll be glad to know she's fine.' Maria informed him with a smile. 'You've been so tense since she came in! _But_ she's fine, a little tired but otherwise ready to be sent home. She's been surprisingly nice considering we wouldn't let her sleep last night!' Maria chuckled. 'She's lucky, injury like hers could have been much worse.'

Maria signed off on Mercedes' chart and handed it to Sam with a flourish. 'All yours, Dr. Evans!'

Sam managed a weak smile in return and took his time examining Mercedes' notes. Maria was right, Mercedes had been very lucky - something the size of that Super Trooper could have killed her, and he felt the knot in his stomach release a little bit for the first time since he'd seen her the day before.

Sam took a deep breath before he entered Mercedes' room. She wouldn't be groggy now, and once she was discharged he could probably say what he'd been dying to say to her for years.

'Mercedes.' Sam said by way of acknowledgement when he stepped into the room. He was taken aback when Mercedes not only gave him a dazzling smile but stood to her feet and gave him a huge hug.

'Sam!' she pulled back from him, giving his arm a friendly squeeze as she took him in. She smelled of gardenias and home made cookies. _Damn her._

'The nurses told me it was you. Sorry I didn't put two and two together last night. I was so out of it. I was mostly trying not to throw up.' she smiled at Sam, making him feel like she was sharing a secret with him. 'How have you been, Sam?' she asked, 'last I heard you were in Kentucky?'

'I was.' Sam admitted, 'Then I moved East for college and this is where I stayed.'

Mercedes nodded, although her smile faltered a little at his tone.

'I moved to NY for college too,' she admitted. 'To think, all this time we were in the same city and never knew it.'

'Yeah.' Sam said with a voice like lead, dropping his eyes to the chart in his hand. 'You'll be happy to know you're being discharged.' He informed her, managing to be completely unsubtle in his quest to change the subject. He handed her the documents he'd been holding and fished a pen out of the pocket of his lab coat.

'You just need to fill out these forms, and then you'll be free to go. You'll need to take it easy for the next few days, and if you start to feel dizzy, nauseous, anything like that, come back in and see us, ok?'

'Ok.' Mercedes nodded again, her eyes narrowing as she tried to figure out why the blond was acting so strangely.

'Is something wrong, Sam?' she asked eventually, knowing as soon as she did that she was right. Sam had tensed at her question, and his eyes darted away from her evasively as she scanned his face.

'It's...' Sam began. 'You know what? I go on break in about 15 minutes. It'll probably take you about that long to get done with your paperwork. How about we meet in the canteen for a coffee? We can talk then.' _when she wouldn't be his patient,_ Sam added silently.

'Sure.' Mercedes tapped the pen he'd handed her against the top edge of her forms warily.

'Great.'

Sam hovered awkwardly in the doorway for a moment before he turned and left, leaving Mercedes to feel completely confused as to what on _earth _was going on.

Twenty minutes later they found themselves cradling hot drinks in the hospital's depressing canteen and facing each other across a white Formica table-top.

'Did I say or do anything to offend you last night while I was out of it?' Mercedes asked when Sam made no move to break the awkward silence. 'Because I was really excited to see you _for the first time since Junior year _but now you just seem… _mad._'

Sam sighed at Mercedes' words. He'd had what he was going to say all planned out for such a long time, and yet it all seemed to have abandoned him.

'I am mad.' Sam admitted, going for the truth. 'But not because of last night.'

Mercedes clutched her tea tighter in her hands as he spoke. 'Then _why?_'

Sam took a deep breath, 'because you told Quinn to break up with me when I went to Kentucky.' He shook his head. 'I was planning on marrying her, you know? First she says yes to going long distance, and then the next thing I know she tells me she's spoken to you and doesn't think it will be a good idea anymore.'

Mercedes narrowed her eyes. 'That's _all _she said?'

'Yeah.'

Mercedes took a long moment to calm herself down and Sam watched her counting her breaths in and out until she had herself in check. When she was done, she looked up at him with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

'That is _not _what happened.'

Sam frowned, 'You didn't tell Quinn to break it off with me?'

'No!' Mercedes stopped herself, 'Actually, yeah, I guess I _did._' Sam began to look vindicated but she halted him, 'but that's not _all_ I said, and I'd been saying a lot of things to Quinn _before_ then and… this isn't going to make any sense to you because she didn't tell you…' Mercedes trailed off, looking downcast but thoughtful.

'Didn't tell me what?' Sam asked, getting more irritated at her for talking in circles.

'I… that isn't my place to say.' Mercedes told him sadly, her fingers absent-mindedly swirling the plastic stirrer in her tea. 'It never was.'

'Ok.' Mercedes announced with a decisive nod of her head, 'You know what? You need to talk to Quinn.' She scribbled down his high-school girlfriend's number on a paper napkin and handed it to him. 'I would give you _my_ number too, but I have a feeling you'd just "lose" it.' Mercedes told him. 'But talk to Quinn. Then, if you feel like talking to me afterwards, you can get my number from her.'

Mercedes got to her feet and threw her almost full paper cup of tea in the trash.

'Thanks for patching me up, Sam.' She said quietly before she turned and walked out of the canteen.

Sam stared at the paper napkin with Quinn's number on it and then turned his head to look at the phone in his hand. After a moment he looked back to the napkin and then back to the phone in his hand again. He'd been doing this for about twenty minutes, trying to decide if he should call Quinn or not. Eventually he just dialed the number really fast and had it to his ear before he could talk himself out of it.

'_Quinn Jones.'_

Sam faltered for a moment, Quinn… _Jones?_

'Uh, I was looking for Quinn Fabray?' he asked and he recognized the laugh that came through the receiver.

'I've not been a Fabray in a while, but yeah, that's me. Who is this?'

Sam gulped, his mouth suddenly dry. 'Uh, it's Sam… Evans. Sam Evans.'

'_Sam.' _The tone at the other end was warm, but apprehensive somehow, and Sam felt himself start to get nervous. 'Mercedes said you might call.'

_Ah. _'Uh, yeah… we ran into each other.' Sam admitted, 'she said that I ought to give you a call to… clear up… some things.'

Sam suddenly felt like a complete _idiot _for calling. High school was over 10 years ago! He was almost _thirty_. Why was he on the phone to his old girlfriend ready to rehash the past?

Sam heard Quinn take a deep breath on the other end of the line and his nerves increased tenfold.

'Yeah.' Quinn said, 'I think we do.' There was a pause as Quinn seemed to be deciding where to start before she asked curiously, 'Did you really spend the last 11 years blaming Mercedes for our break up?'

'I… um….' It sounded so much _worse _when she said it like that. 'Kind of… _Yeah_.'

Quinn let out another gusty sigh. 'Well, don't. She was right, I should have told you the truth a long time ago.'

There was a pause. 'I wish I could tell you this face to face, Sam.' Quinn admitted, 'You deserve that, but I'm out in California so…' Sam was beginning to wish Quinn would just spit it out, his nerves were running wild speculating about awful things without a truth to set them straight.

'I cheated on you with Finn.' Quinn said quickly, 'For maybe four or five months before you moved to Kentucky.'

For a minute Sam couldn't say anything. What _did _you say to something like that? He'd thought Quinn was the one that got away. He hadn't realized that…

'You were _cheating _on me?'

'Yeah.' Quinn's voice was apologetic. 'I'm so sorry, Sam. I honestly did think that I might have loved you back then, but… I thought that I loved Finn too… Mercedes found out that I was having an affair with Finn and she demanded that I either tell you or break up with you. She was _so _mad on your behalf, Sam, you should have seen her. She was like a Valkyrie or something.'

Quinn stopped for a moment before she went on. 'I made her promise not to tell you, which she did because…'

'Because you two are like 'soul sisters' or something, right?' Sam interrupted, using the phrase the two girls had used repeatedly in high school.

'Right.' Quinn confirmed, 'although she wasn't happy about it. She kept trying to get me to tell you, kept saying that you were too good a person to be treated the way I was treating you.' Quinn's voice went quiet on the other end of the line. 'She was right… but I thought I loved you, so I kept saying that I would, and then… I didn't.'

'Is that why she stopped hanging out with us?' Sam asked, fitting the pieces together in his head.

Over the years he'd told himself that Mercedes had drawn away out of a dislike for him, or maybe jealousy over their relationship… a million different reasons, and yet none of them were this. None of them were the truth. Sam felt ashamed for his assumptions, it seemed now that Mercedes had been the only one truly on his side in all of this.

'Yeah, it was.' Quinn agreed, 'By that point she'd asked me so many times to tell you and I'd never followed through. She didn't feel like she could tell you herself, but she couldn't bear to watch you be so devoted to me knowing the truth. After a while she just started to pull away.'

Sam heard a low voice in the background say something to Quinn and she responded quickly, coming back to the phone a few moments later.

'Sorry.' She apologized when she returned, 'Anyway, I had finally decided to tell you, and then you told me you were moving to Kentucky. Suddenly it didn't seem as necessary anymore. You were going away and I told myself that it was kinder to keep you in the dark.'

'But then I suggested long distance.' Sam prompted, his voice sounding leaden to his own ears.

'Then you suggested long-distance.' Quinn confirmed, 'and for a while I thought I could just keep going the way I had been, with both of the men I thought I loved. That was when I said yes.' Quinn paused. 'But when I told Mercedes…' there was a sharp intake of breath as Quinn recalled the memory. 'I have _never _seen her so angry with anybody as she was with me that day, before or since. She was _furious _with me for even considering it. She said that I had dangled you along for most of Junior year, and that the very least I owed you was to let you have a chance to move on and make a clean break of it when you moved to Kentucky. Eventually, I saw the light and told you I'd changed my mind.'

Sam's grip on the phone in his hand tightened as he tried to process everything he'd just learned. He was astounded. Everything he'd _thought _he'd known about his relationship with Quinn had been nothing but a big ass _lie_. He cringed to think of all the times he'd complained to his parents about Mercedes' behaviour in the days following his break up with Quinn. He had moved on eventually, dating a series of other girls during Senior Year and throughout college, but it had felt hollow. Now it turned out that his most loyal, meaningful relationship had been with a girl he'd never even kissed.

'I dated Finn until a few months into Senior Year.' Quinn was saying, 'Until he cheated on me with Berry. _How's that for Karma?' _She let out a little humourless laugh._ '_Then I took a break from dating for pretty much _all _of college, and moved out to California to try and make it as an actor. Mercedes' brother lived out here and the Jones' _insisted_ that he take care of me and… well, we reconnected. We've been married for three years now.'

There was a pregnant pause as Quinn waited for Sam to say something, _anything_, but all he managed was:

'I thought you were the love of my life.'

'Sam,' Quinn began gently, 'The love of your life would never have broken up with you because someone else told them to.'

Sam nodded, forgetting that Quinn couldn't see him, and ran his hand through his hair. He could do with a scotch. Or three.

'So what you're saying…' Sam started in as measured a tone as he could manage, 'is that Mercedes…'

'Was kinda the only person to do right by you back then.' Quinn finished, 'Yeah.'

Sam sighed and ran a hand across his forehead. He honestly didn't know how to deal with this new information just yet.

'I'm glad you found your way to happiness, Quinn.' Sam told her eventually. He didn't even have the energy to be surprised that the words were genuine. Truthfully, over the years Sam had secretly come to suspect that Quinn wasn't The One, but he'd romanticized her in his head, and gotten bogged down in the 'what if's'.

His mom had warned him about doing that. Mary Evans had said from the start that she didn't think Quinn was the one for her eldest son. Incidentally, she'd always preferred Mercedes. _Mother knows best. _Sam thought wryly.

'Thanks… I really am sorry, Sam.' Quinn said again. 'I had no idea you'd blame Mercy for my mistakes. I should have told you back then, but I didn't. That's all on me, no-one else.'

'Quinn?' Sam asked when the woman was done talking, 'Could you give me Mercedes number, please?'

'Sure!' the woman said, sounding happier than she had throughout the whole of the rest of the conversation as she read out Mercedes' number and made him repeat it back to her.

'And you'll call her, right?' Quinn demanded.

'Yeah.' Sam promised, not sure how he felt about Quinn now that he knew the truth, although he sensed that she was a different, better person now than she had been in Lima.

'Oh, good! You know she's single?'

'_Quinn.'_

'Too soon?' Quinn asked innocently.

'Yes.'

'Ok, ok.' Quinn allowed, a smile on her lips. Honestly the woman was worse than Maria, who seemed to have designated herself his matchmaker.

'I know this wasn't exactly a fun conversation' Quinn continued, her tone suddenly serious, 'but I really have missed you, Sam.' She admitted.

'Me too, Quinn.' Sam told her, and realized that that sentiment, at least, was real. He _had_ missed Quinn, not in a girlfriend sense, but just talking to her. It occurred to Sam that they'd always made better friends than lovers anyway. Even so it would probably still be a while before they could be that again.

'I've got to go.' He excused himself after some more small talk. 'See you later, Quinn.'

'See you, Sam.'

Sam hung up the phone and then looked at the receiver in his hand. His eyes slid back over to the notepad he'd scrawled Mercedes' number onto, and then back to the phone again.

He knew he was about to fall into the same cycle he'd been in before, so he carefully placed the phone back in the cradle and leaned back in his chair. Sam rubbed the stubble on his jaw and bit the end of his pen thoughtfully. He needed to call Mercedes. He _needed _to… but what would he say? _'Hi, sorry for resenting you for eleven years, and then being unjustifiably annoyed at you when we met again out of the blue?' _No. Sam picked up the phone again and dialed, getting up to make himself that scotch as the dial tone sounded.

'What?' James was sharp when he answered the phone. As a doctor he knew that he kept strange hours, but the way he saw it, one am in the morning was still one am in the goddamn morning.

'You and I need to have a drink tomorrow night.' Sam said, ignoring James' tone.

'And you couldn't say this in a text because…'

'Because I just had my perceptions fucked over and I needed to hear a friendly voice.' Sam explained.

'So you called _me?' _James asked, his voice squeaking with disbelief, 'I thought we _knew_ each other?'

'Quinn cheated.' Sam said softly, 'Mercedes pushed her to tell me the truth or let me go.'

'Oh…' There was a pause on the other end of the line as James apparently mulled this over. 'So the girl who you thought screwed you over turned out to be a good guy.' He volunteered eventually.

'Yeah.'

'So what are you going to do?'

'I was hoping you'd help me figure that out,'

Sam heard James let out a deep sigh, and knew that despite his grumbles, the guy was going to come through for him.

'Fine.' James grumbled, and through the phone Sam heard a soft _whompf _as his best friend fell back onto the mattress again.

'O'Reilly's at 9 tomorrow?'

'You're the best, man.'

'Yeah, yeah.' James dismissed as he yawned down the phone.

'Next time, why don't you remember how great I am when you're thinking about calling me at one in the morning and then… _don't._'

'Sorry, dude.'

'Uh huh.' James yawned again, the sound echoing down the phone line. 'Can I go back to sleep now?'

'Yeah, sorry.' Sam apologized again. 'See you tomorrow, J.'

Sam and James were both staring at the piece of paper sitting unobtrusively between them the next day, hands clutched around their drinks as their eyes stayed trained on the square of yellow paper.

'So… remind me again why this is such a big deal?' James asked finally as he raised his eyes to his friend's reflection in the big mirror behind the bar.

Sam looked at Mercedes' number scrawled on the scrap of yellow legal paper in front of him and felt his heart begin to pound again. It had been doing that ever since he'd seen her again at the hospital, Sam thought irritably, remembering the moment when he'd looked up to find her sitting there with blood pouring out of her head. He winced at the memory… actually, _no_… Sam frowned and took an absentminded sip of his Glenlivet. Actually… _actually_ it had been doing that since _high school. _Sam recoiled from the paper, staring down at it as if it were the serpent in the garden of Eden whispering unwanted truths in his ear.

But it was too late. Now the floodgates were open, and there was no way for Sam to unlearn what he'd discovered. He'd thought it was the anger that made his heart beat faster when he'd thought about Mercedes over the years… but what if… what if it _wasn't? _What if James was right and he actually…

Sam pushed the paper away from him with the force that he wished he could use to push the idea away, and he watched as it hovered delicately on the far edge of the counter for a moment before fluttering behind the bar.

'_Shit!_' Sam leapt off his stool to see where it had landed, instantly regretting being so careless and hoping desperately that the scrap of paper hadn't been destroyed or lost.

Wrinkles appeared on James' normally smooth forehead as he watched Sam apparently doing a yoga routine over the side of the bar as he leaned down to try and spot the little piece of yellow paper.

'Whoa!' Sasha, the pretty bartender on duty that day, rushed over as soon as she spotted Sam practically suspended over the bar. 'What the fuck?'

'Sorry!' James mouthed at her, and Sasha scooted cautiously past Sam's grasping hands to talk to him.

'He dropped something.' James said by way of explanation as soon as Sasha was close enough to hear. Although she could easily have heard him he leaned in and smiled at her anyway, never one to miss the opportunity to work his charm.

'Oh.' Sasha turned back to Sam who was leaning back on his stool looking dejected. 'Well, why didn't you just say so?' she asked the blond doctor, scanning the floor for whatever it was he might have misplaced.

'What am I lookin' for?' She asked after a moment, sweeping her long red hair up into a ponytail and then pinning it up off her neck with a large banana clip.

'A piece of paper with a phone number on it.' Sam supplied, as James folded his arms and leant over the bar a little further to enjoy the view of Sasha bending down in a vest top.

'Got it!' Sasha stood a few moments later with the paper in her hand and watched as the relief washed over Sam's face. 'She must be special if you're freaking out that much over losing her number.'

The redhead handed the slip over to Sam, who took it with a grateful smile and a heartfelt 'thank you' before he studied the numbers to make sure that none of them had been compromised in any way. Sure, he could have asked Quinn to give it to him again, but after their last conversation he really felt that they both needed space to process after the truth had come out.

'Yeah…' Sam agreed, 'Wait! No, it's not like that… she… I mean she _is _special, it's just that…'

'He's still deciding if he's going to call her or not.' James supplied, unreasonably entertained by his best friend's fluster as he took another sip of his beer.

'Well, why wouldn't he?' Sasha asked curiously, leaning her hip against the bar with one arm outstretched to the side to prop her up in front of James.

'I don't get it.'

'Neither do I.' James shook his head, his beer bottle still clutched in his hand as he somberly regarded his clueless, lovesick _mess_ of a friend who was currently trying to smooth out the wrinkles of the paper against the bar.

'You wanna explain to us why you would even _consider _not calling this girl, Sam?' James asked, his teeth flashing briefly white against his light brown skin as he raised the bottle to his lips.

Sam looked up from the number, a frown still on his face from the thoughts that had been running through his head as he looked at it.

'Because I spent the last eleven years resenting her… or at least, _thinking _I did.' Sam added softly, 'and now I've seen her again and found out that I was basically a huge jackass and she was right and I was wrong and I'm a jerk and she's friggin' _gorgeous._'

Sasha and James exchanged a look.

'Ok,' Sasha moved over to lean on the bar between the two men so they formed a triangle around Mercedes' number. 'Number one, if all that is true then you need to call her to at_ least_ apologize.'

Sam huffed out a sigh and leaned back on his bar stool, his fingers idly tracing the sides of his scotch glass.

'Second,' Sasha went on, 'it sounds like at least _some _of that frustration has to do with the fact that you're attracted to her. Am I right?'

James switched his gaze from Sasha's face to Sam's an amused smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

'Yeah, is she right, Sam?'

Sam glared at his fellow doctor, carefully repeating to himself all the reasons that he shouldn't smack James in his smug face. James would forgive him for the slap, but not so much if Sam damaged his 'handsome guy features' as he referred to them. Sam decided against the slap, although James _still _seemed to be enjoying this way too much.

'Yes.' Sam bit out through clenched teeth, '_Maybe_… I don't know.'

He leaned forward to stare into his glass as he swirled the dark brown liquid in the bottom and took a sip.

'I think I was wrong about how I felt about her.' Sam admitted cryptically, 'And now I don't know what right is.'

Over his head Sasha and James exchanged another silent look.

'Well… why don't you find out?' Sasha suggested after Sam had been silent for a while, sliding Mercedes' number across the bar towards the blond doctor.

'_Call her.' _Sasha urged, 'ask her out to an apology dinner and explain your story, and then take her home for sweet, sweet make-up sex.'

Sam coughed as his mouthful of scotch went down the wrong hole and burned his throat.

'_What?'_

'I agree with Sasha.' James tipped his beer bottle to her, clearly impressed. 'Just call the woman and get it over with.'

Sam wiped at his mouth with a napkin as his breathing settled, scrunching it into a ball in his hand as he looked down at the number between them.

'You're right.' he agreed, sitting up straighter on the stool. 'You're both absolutely right.'

Sasha looked pleased with herself as she bobbed upright, but her smile faltered when Sam added,

'but…'

'Oh, come_ on!' _James shot out, running a frustrated hand over his face. 'Just _call her, _bro.'

'I know.' Sam nodded, 'I will, I just… not yet. Let me finish my drink first?' Sam raised the glass to James and took a demonstrative sip.

'_Fine._' James allowed, tipping his beer bottle at Sasha for another. 'I think I'm gonna be needing them.' He explained as Sasha popped the cap off another bottle and slid it across the bar to him. The little bartender gave him a sympathetic smile before she made her way over to some other customers on the other side of the bar who had just come in.

'Hey Sam, your phone has internet right?' Sasha called out to him about ten minutes later, making her way over from another group who had come fresh from working at the hospital.

'Huh?' Sam looked up from the last few drops of scotch in the glass he was trying to make last while James eyeballed him in the mirror. 'Yeah.'

'Do you mind if I borrow it?' Sasha flashed him a beguiling smile that no doubt regularly earned her extra tips and carried on, 'Just for two secs, someone just ordered something weird and I gotta look up how to make it.'

Sam shrugged and fished his phone out of his pocket, one hand still on his drink just in case James tried to do something like finish it off while he was occupied and then demand that Sam made the call. He handed the phone over to the petite bartender without another word, he knew that Sasha wouldn't go crazy on it. She'd been working here when Sam had first started at the hospital and he'd gotten to know her pretty well over the years he'd been frequenting this bar. He knew she was good people.

'Thanks, sweetie!' Sasha winked as she took the phone from him and pressed a few buttons, her face intent on the screen. It wasn't until she lifted the phone to her ear that Sam started to suspect that Sasha wasn't doing what she'd _said_ she was going to do.

'Sasha…'

'Mm?' Sasha's voice was innocent as she held the phone to her ear, apparently listening intently to something.

'Sasha, what are you doing?'

The woman took the phone away from her ear and looked at it with a look of complete surprise on her face as if seeing it for the first time.

'Oh no!' Sasha shot Sam a mischievous look that made his whole body break into a nervous sweat and handed the phone back. '_Whoops_! Looks like my thumb slipped and I accidentally called that girl you're being an idiot about.'

Sasha gave a little unapologetic shrug as Sam stared in horror down at the phone in his hand just as the readout on the display changed from 'calling' to a clock timer. He was even more horrified when a tinny voice could be heard saying 'hello?' through the earpiece.

'Uh…Hi!' Sam raised the phone to his ear and shot Sasha an annoyed look as he spoke to Mercedes on the phone, his skin flushing as he did so.

'Hello…' Mercedes answered cautiously, 'who is this?

'Um… It's Sam.' Sam supplied, watching with annoyance as James and Sasha exchanged high fives next to him. 'I'm sorry to bother you, it's just… you said I could call…'

Mercedes sounded surprised as she took in this information.

'Well, hi Sam.' She answered finally, her voice lukewarm, 'what can I do for you?'

'Actually, it's what I can do for you…'

Sam hopped down from his seat in a fluid movement and went to look for somewhere quieter to talk, he kept the phone clamped to his ear with one hand and his half finished scotch in the other.

'Hold on, let me go somewhere quieter.'

Sam shouldered open the swing door to the bar and stepped out into the night. There was a slight chill to the air, but he welcomed the coolness against his skin after the packed heat of the bar.

'I wanted to apologize.' Sam said taking a few steps away from the group of smokers hovering around the doorway. 'For being such a jerk to you when we met the other day… and for assuming the worst and falsely accusing you.' Sam propped his back up against the brick wall and leaned against it, holding his drink limply at his side. 'That was really shitty of me.'

He sighed and used his thumb to scratch at the worry lines forming on his forehead as he waited for Mercedes to say something. She was silent a long moment before she spoke, and when she did it was just one word.

'Ok.'

'Ok?'

'I accept your apology.'

'Really?'

Mercedes let out a soft chuckle, 'Yes. Why? Did you want me to make you jump through hoops?'

'_No...' _Sam let out a relieved chuckle of his own as Sasha's words flashed back to him.

'But I _would_ like you to let me buy you dinner. I know it won't make up for it, but as a peace offering… a clean slate?'

Sam waited with bated breath for Mercedes' answer, his heart beating so hard in his chest that he felt like it would burst out and go pumping off down the street without him.

'Your hoop is dinner?' Mercedes gave a bemused laugh, 'Ok, yeah. Why not? That sounds good.' Sam let out his breath in a single relieved sigh.

'Awesome.' Sam beamed into the receiver. 'So, I'm on the graveyard shift Wednesday and Friday this week, but I'm free every other day this week. Could we maybe do Saturday?'

'_Saturday_… One second, let me check.' There was a brief silence as Mercedes apparently checked her phone for her availability before she came back on the line.

'I can do Saturday.'

'Great.' He could hear his wide smile all over his voice, but Sam really didn't care. He'd been so nervous to call Mercedes, but the instant he'd heard her voice he'd felt calmer. It had washed over him like cool water and eased the worried heat of his mind.

'Shall we say… 7?'

'Seven is awesome.'

'Great!'

'Great.'

If Sam had to guess, he'd say it sounded like Mercedes was smiling on her side of the phone too.

'I'll pick you up. Can you message me your address?'

'I can, but you don't really need to do that, Sam. I'm a big girl, I can walk.'

'And _I'm _a guy who was raised in the South.' Sam argued, his voice brooking no argument. '_I'm pickin' you up_.'

'Ok, ok!' Mercedes giggled, 'I'll text it over.'

Sam smiled, glad that she hadn't put up too much of a fight on that front.

'You better! Doctor's orders.'

'Oh gosh, I'm going to be getting that the whole night aren't I?'

Sam chuckled good-naturedly, his voice teasing when he spoke again.

'Maybe… maybe not, _especially_ not if you actually let me _do _things for you.'

'I can do things for myself.' Mercedes reminded him firmly, and even though it had been years since he'd seen her do it, it wasn't hard for Sam to imagine the so-called 'diva' rolling her eyes and pretending to be annoyed.

'Yeah, but I'm apologisin', and it's not gonna work if you don't let me show you how sorry I am.'

Mercedes let out an exaggerated sigh, but her voice was light when she acquiesced.

'_Okay, _if you insist.'

'I _do._'

'Fine.'

'Good.'

'…So… I guess I'll see you on Saturday then.'

The grin that had spread on Sam's face during the course of the conversation seemed to have taken up permanent residence as he started walking slowly back towards the bar. It was funny, but now he was talking to Mercedes again he found that he was weirdly reluctant to stop.

'I reckon you will.'

Sam hung up and smiled down at the phone in his hand for a brief moment before he shoved the handset into the pocket of his jeans and went to rejoin the others at the bar.

'You look happy.' Sasha commented, her hands busy wiping down the bar while while her eyes followed Sam as he slid onto his recently vacated stool.

'I'm still mad at you.' Sam glared, the effect lost when his smile broke through his glower. 'Kind of… Not really. How did you even do that anyway?'

'Photographic memory.' Sasha told him simply with a shrug of her slim shoulders.

'So I take it that went well?' James asked, his eyes lingering on Sam's joyful face. 'You look like someone smacked you with sunshine out there. What the hell did you two say to each other?'

Sam shrugged and nodded his thanks as Sasha set another Glenlivet down in front of him, propping her chin on her elbow so she could lean in to hear Sam's answer.

'I apologized.' Sam looked complacent as he took a small sip of his drink, his smile stretching across the lip of the glass when he caught James and Sasha exchanging a wearied glance.

'And…'

'And I asked her out to dinner.'

'Yes!' Sasha high fived James over the counter and Sam laughed at the delighted look on the redhead's face.

'It's just an apology dinner.' Sam reminded her, but the woman just shrugged.

'That's how it will _start._' Sasha raised an eyebrow at Sam as a guy across the bar motioned her over. 'That doesn't mean that's how it has to fin-ish!' Sasha sang over her shoulder as she went to see what the guy wanted.

'I like her.' James disclosed as he watched the sway of Sasha's hips as she walked away from them.

'I can _see _that.'

James turned his attention to Sam and shoved him in the arm so hard the blond had to fight not to fall off his stool.

'Not like _that._' The handsome doctor protested, reaching up to scratch at the dark stubble that covered his jaw. 'Get your mind out of the gutter.'

'I will.' Sam promised, 'just as soon as you get your eyes off her ass.'

A slight blush coloured James' cheeks and he cautiously sipped at his beer to hide it.

'Shut up.'

Sam found himself looking forward to his 'apology dinner' with Mercedes far more than he probably should have, given that he was supposed to be spending the entire night admitting to being an idiot. Yet Sam found that he couldn't keep the smile off his face as the day got closer. Mercedes had really already forgiven him, and the thought of catching up with her and finding out what happened with the rest of the group from high school had him in such a good mood that he was humming to himself as he finished up his shift on Saturday afternoon.

Judy eyed Sam speculatively as she watched the young doctor lean against the nurses' station to fill out his charts, a smile playing on his lips as he looked over the chart of a patient with kidney stones.

'I spoke to Maria, yesterday.' Judy said conversationally, swinging slightly in the chair she was sitting in.

'Oh yeah?' Sam only seemed to be half listening, but he answered and set his pen down to give Judy his full attention.

'Yeah.' Judy studied his face as she spoke, her eyes not missing a single detail. 'She said that you've been goofier than usual.'

Sam pouted, but it gave way to a smile as he laughed good-naturedly at the accusation and winked at the nurse.

'I _knew _y'all ladies talked about me.'

Judy ignored the comment. 'I told her that wasn't possible. I said to her, 'that Dr. Evans is already goofier than the entire children's ward. There's no _way _he could be goofier than usual.'

The older woman stopped and surveyed Sam seriously and shook her head.

'I'm gonna have to eat my words.'

Sam shrugged and clicked his pen back on again to continue writing.

'Sorry, Jude.'

'_I wasn't finished._' Judy interrupted, her tone making him put down his pen again. It was automatic, the woman reminded him _so much _of his mom.

'Sorry.'

'Is it a date?' Judy demanded, her brown eyes crinkled in concern behind her glasses.

Sam's smile wavered and his brow furrowed as he took in the nurse's question.

'No! It's just dinner.' Sam picked up the pen again and started playing with the button at the top. Clicking it repeatedly as he denied Judy's implication. 'Between frie… between people who used to know… It's a catch-up-slash-apology dinner.' Sam finished firmly, hoping that his conviction on the last sentence would rule out his hesitancy and the stuttering mess that came before it.

'Uh-huh?' Judy shot him a look that told him that she not appreciate being lied to and then readjusted the glasses frames on her face. 'Nobody I know ever got that excited about apologizing to somebody and gossiping about high school.'

Sam finished filling out the Kidney Stone chart and slipped his pen into his pocket.

'How did you know it was someone from high school?'

Judy raised a single eyebrow at him and took the chart out of his hands.

'Child, I was not born yesterday. I saw how you were after you treated that Jones girl with the head injury, and then Maria told me that you two knew each other from high school.'

Sam thought that Maria was far too chatty for her own good sometimes.

'Now all of a sudden you're humming as you do your least favourite part of the job? Please, you must think I'm a fool.'

'Now Judy, you know that's not true.' Sam said, reaching out to squeeze the concerned woman's shoulder. 'It's just _not_ a date.'

'So this is a date, right?' Quinn asked through the computer monitor as Mercedes got ready for her dinner with Sam. 'Because you look date hot.'

Mercedes paused in her blush application to side-eye the webcam.

'I always look hot.'

'True.' Quinn agreed, blonde head bobbing, 'but you look _extra _hot right now.' She went on, 'Like _five chillies _hot.'

Mercedes rolled her eyes but let out a little giggle as she turned back to her mirror.

'Well, _thanks, _Sis, but I think my little niece or nephew is messing with your hormones again.'

'No they aren't!' Quinn protested, resting a hand on her swollen belly. 'But I _am _six months pregnant, so I have to live vicariously through my hotter than fuck best friend-slash- sister-in-law, ok?'

Quinn finished on a laugh and peered expectantly into the camera lens. 'So… _is it _a date?' she repeated and Mercedes huffed in exasperation.

'_No. It's not._ It's no more of a date now that it was _yesterday_ when you asked me, or the _day before that_.'

Quinn looked contrary, 'I'm just saying. I always thought you two would be good together in high school.'

Mercedes raised an eyebrow and Quinn quickly got the hint.

'Right, let's not go there. Anyway, the point is, I think you two would be good together.'

'And if we aren't?' Mercedes asked, both eyebrows raised in expectation as she played along with Quinn's assertion.

'Then maybe he can be good for _right now._' Her friend chuckled to herself when Mercedes looked scandalized.

'_What?_' Quinn asked looking completely unrepentant, 'I mean, how long has it even been since you and August broke up? A year?'

'A year and a half.' Mercedes muttered, busying herself with finding her mascara in her make up case.

'_Too long.' _Quinn intoned, glaring forcefully down her tiny six megapixel camera.

'_Quinn_!'

'Living vicariously!' the blonde called back cheerily, 'although Carter and I really don't have that problem, our sex life is still _muy caliente,_' Quinn fanned herself with her hand,_ '_and I mean _**muy**__, _Carter does this thing where…'

'LA-LA-LA-LA-LA' Mercedes sang loudly, covering her ears until Quinn's lips stopped moving on her monitor.

'Really, Mercy?' Quinn queried, looking unimpressed when the raven-haired girl had taken her hands away. 'I thought you were twenty-eight, not _five._'

'I don't think I'll _ever _be at the age when I'll _want _to hear about my brother's sex life.'

Quinn rolled her eyes, 'You watched Beth being _born_.' The woman reminded her friend gently, 'How do you think your future niece or nephew is getting here?'

'Stork.' Mercedes answered without hesitation as she swept the mascara wand along her lashes.

'You've been talking to Brittany again, haven't you?' Quinn teased and Mercedes stuck her tongue out.

'It's probably the same one from outside Britt's window Junior year.' Mercedes added, screwing the cap back on her mascara and tossing it back in with the rest of her make up. 'Nothing to do with my brother at all.'

'Keep telling yourself that, Jones.' Quinn grinned as Mercedes resettled herself in front of the monitor and reached for her earrings, 'Maybe you can get Sam to tell you how babies are made.' The pregnant woman suggested innocently, one hand still rubbing her belly, 'or better yet, _get him to __**show you.**_'

Mercedes mouth fell open as she stared incredulously at her Sister-in-Law.

'Quinn!'

'Uh-huh, not a date, I know.' Quinn parroted with an exasperated roll of her head as someone came into view entering the room behind her.

'Is that my little sis?' Mercedes heard a deep voice say and then moments later her brother's face appeared over Quinn's shoulder.

The blonde woman turned to give her husband a sweet kiss before quickly filling him in on the discussion.

'Mercy doesn't think it's a date.' Quinn explained, with a raised eyebrow as Carter turned to the monitor with a sigh.

'Then what do you think it is, Merce?'

'It's an apology dinner!' Mercedes blew out her cheeks, exasperated. Why everyone in her family seemed to be insisting it was a date was beyond her, Sam had only_ just_ stopped resenting her… after _years._

'Didn't he already apologise, though?' Carter asked thoughtfully, his brown forehead wrinkling in confusion.

'He did.' Quinn confirmed and the two of them gave each other a meaningful look before they both turned simultaneously back to the webcam.

'Pretty sure it's a date, sis.'

'Co-signed!' Quinn put in excitedly and Mercedes let out a long, weary sigh.

'I have to go.' She told them both, grateful that the clock was on her side. 'I'll talk to you guys afterwards so you can hear all about how much of a _non-date _it was.'

Quinn was resting her head on her husband's chest and had reached up a hand to idly stroke his short beard as Mercedes spoke, but she dropped it when Mercedes went to sign off.

'Even if it's not a date, you look gorgeous.'

'Although it probably _is_ a date.' Carter mumbled into his wife's hair.

'Even if,' Quinn said, smirking, 'You should have fun. You know better than I do that Sam's a good guy, and the whole 'blaming you for our breakup' thing was _definitely _my fault, not his.'

Mercedes bit her lip. She already knew that, but she also knew Quinn needed to get it off her chest so she didn't interrupt.

'So, you know, don't rule it out if it turns out to maybe be something more.' Quinn was saying while Carter nodded along with her.

'And if he hurts you in any way, you let me know and I'll come kick his ass.' Carter warned, the seriousness in his voice making Mercedes smile even though she doubted he'd ever do it.

'This guy might not _know _it's a date, but it _might _be a date. Just so you know.' Carter added, which only managed to confuse his little sister.

'Doesn't matter.' Carter told her with a wave of his hand when Mercedes' brow had remained knit for a few seconds. 'Just have fun, and you know… be safe… and stuff.'

Mercedes had to bite back a laugh as her brother blushed. Clearly she wasn't the only Jones sibling who didn't like hearing about the other's sex life.

'I'll try.' She promised them both before she signed off and went downstairs to wait for Sam to pick her up.

At 6.55, Sam stood outside the bookstore at the address Mercedes had given him and phoned up to check that he was in the right place.

'Oh, yeah.' Mercedes assured him, as she went to retrieve her purse. 'I live in the apartment above. Come on up.'

A few minutes later Sam was standing at her door holding a bunch of vibrant purple flowers out towards her.

'I remembered that you used to wear a lot of purple in high school.' he admitted with a nervous shrug, 'I took a guess. I hope they're ok.'

'They're beautiful.' Mercedes assured him, taking the flowers from him and setting them up in water before they left. 'It was a good guess. Purple is my favourite colour, thank you.'

Sam lifted the corner of his mouth in a half smile, 'My mom always told me that a sincere apology starts with flowers.'

Mercedes laughed, thinking that it was a shame she never really got to meet Mary Evans before Sam moved away. 'Well, thank you, Momma Evans for the advice, and thank _you_ for the apology.'

Sam fell easily into step with Mercedes as the two of them left the apartment and walked leisurely down the street towards the restaurant. Sam had booked the table for 7.45, so they had plenty of time to get there on foot without being late and the two of them strolled amiably together.

'So, tell me about yourself, _Dr. Evans_.' Mercedes said, breaking the silence that had settled between them while they walked. 'What's happened with since Lima?'

'Wow.' Sam said, blowing his breath out into the sky as he shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his leather jacket.

'Well…' he stopped, 'do you really want me to start all the way back there?'

Mercedes nodded so Sam shrugged and thought for a moment.

'Ok, well, after we left Lima I was… kinda disagreeable.' Sam admitted, his lips cocked in a sheepish grin as he looked down at the short woman next to him.

'I um… spent a lot of time talking about you, and not in a favourable way.' Sam blushed and looked apologetic, but Mercedes just motioned for him to continue.

'Um, so then I threw myself into schoolwork, dated a few different girls but none of those relationships ever really went anywhere. I don't think I had a girlfriend that lasted longer than maybe two months back then.' He shrugged, 'I didn't really have much time for them anyway, between working to help support my family and studying to keep my grades up I didn't really get to see them much.

'Then, during my senior year, people started trying to get me to look at colleges and stuff. I actually hadn't planned on going, I figured I'd serve my family better going straight into work, but my parents _insisted _that I at _least_ look. Although, even then I wasn't going to apply… and then I got this email.'

They were nearing the restaurant, so Sam guided Mercedes to the door and held it open for her, stopping just inside to tell the _maitre'd_ the name his reservations were under. Once they'd both been seated Sam continued his story.

'Where was I?' he asked as the waiter disappeared with their food order.

'Email.' Mercedes supplied, looking interested as Sam nodded and resumed his tale.

'Right. So, I got this email,' his eyes regarded Mercedes as he took a sip of wine and put down his glass again, 'from this amazing person who I never thanked or acknowledged.' Sam fingered the stem of his wine glass as he kept talking, telling himself that this was _exactly _what this dinner was for, to apologise for the way he'd treated Mercedes over the years, even if most of it was without her knowledge.

'I'm sorry I never replied, Mercedes.'

The woman across from him bit at her lip and nodded, but her eyes were on the empty plate in front of her rather than on him as she did it.

'I was so mad at you then.' Sam explained, wishing that he hadn't been the one to make her face fall like that. 'And even though I know now that I was totally wrong and none of it was your fault, at the time I just didn't feel like I could talk to you after what I thought you'd done.'

Mercedes nodded again, her eyes still fixed on the table and Sam reached over and tilted her chin up with the crook of his finger to get her to look at him.

'I was an idiot.' He told her sincerely. 'I was the biggest asshole, jerkface, tool, stupidhead, clotpoll in the entire Midwest region. And I'm sorry.' Sam's green eyes were sincere on hers as he spoke, dropping his hand when he was sure that she'd stopped trying to avoid his gaze.

'But even mad at you, I still read every word of that letter, and when it came time to apply for colleges, I took inspiration from it. My grandfather was a doctor, and when I was a kid I would dream of growing up to be just like him… but then I got to school and I struggled so hard with my reading…'

Sam trailed off, his eyes fixed on the middle distance as he remembered.

'When I got diagnosed with dyslexia I figured that that was the end of that dream, you know? As soon as they heard me read out loud everybody pegged me as the dumb blond, and after a while I just let them think of me that way. I kept my grades up, my head down and let myself forget about becoming a doctor.'

Sam's focus returned and he blinked a smile at Mercedes who sat quietly across from him as she listened.

'Then I got your email, and reading it made me feel like I could do anything, so I applied to do my undergrad at NYU with a view to going to Medical school. I just wanted to see what would come of it. See if maybe I could get in. I was still surprised when I got a full scholarship though.'

Mercedes grinned, and Sam broke from his storytelling to grin back at her, happy that even after everything he'd done to her she could still be happy for him. Mercedes Jones was clearly a better person than he was.

'Then after I finished up my undergrad at NYU I enrolled in the medical school at Columbia, got my M.D. and I'm just finishing up my residency now.'

Sam smile was shy when he caught Mercedes impressed look, and he smiled even brighter when she reached out a hand to cover his own.

'That's amazing, Sam.' His companion breathed, looking like she meant it. 'Congratulations.'

Sam shrugged and fingered his glass again, suddenly overcome with a bout of shyness the likes of which he hadn't felt since grade school.

'Thanks.' The blond mumbled as Mercedes withdrew her hand. He raised his glass to his lips and took a large sip of his wine. 'I should be thanking you though.' Sam set down his glass and looked earnestly at Mercedes, suddenly realizing that he really _did _owe her for setting him on this path.

'Your letter, it was… it meant a lot.'

Mercedes smiled politely, but Sam didn't think that she fully understood what it had meant to him. Maybe someday he'd tell her, but for now he'd let it drop.

'So what about you, Mizz Jones?' Sam smirked as for some reason Mercedes blushed, her hair briefly falling forward to cover her face as she nodded.

'Um, well… I went to The Manhattan School of Music for my bachelors, and then when I graduated I started auditioning for singing jobs. I got a few, did some work on and off Broadway… but you know what it's like. There was so long between jobs that I decided to go back to school to get my degree in Music Education. Now I teach part time while I wait to be discovered… _what?'_

'Nothing.' Sam shrugged, the smile that had stopped her still fixed on his face. 'I just… I'm really glad that you're doing something with your voice, Cede… I mean, Mercedes. You have such a gift that I was all prepared to ruin this apology dinner and bitch at you if you'd said you were… I don't know, a secretary, or something.'

Mercedes smiled shyly as she tried to figure out how to respond to that. She'd thought that most of the New Directions hadn't cared much about her voice, they'd never really showcased her at all, and she'd been so used to being in the background that she hadn't ever considered that someone might actually be paying attention to her.

Mercedes was grateful when the waiter appeared with their food, and took advantage of the silence as he set down the dishes. When the waiter had disappeared from sight with a polite, 'enjoy your meal' Mercedes felt like her usual composed self again.

'So… where did the super trooper come in?' Sam asked before spearing a piece of new potato onto his fork and taking a bite.

'Ah, that…' Mercedes lowered her fork as she remembered the painful incident. 'That was actually a musical showcase for a bunch of labels.' She sighed and put her fork down.

'I think I was actually doing pretty well until the light came down and brained me.' She explained, her voice wistful.

'Now they probably just remember me as the girl with the ability to produce incredible amounts of blood from her head.'

Mercedes sighed again and reached for her wine glass, her voice full of regret at the recollection.

'And did I mention I fainted?' she queried bitterly, her hand frozen on the glass stem, 'because I totally fainted. Right into the arms of the A&R guy from Sony.'

It had been humiliating, and Mercedes was unsurprised that she'd yet to hear from any of them. She took a healthy swallow of her wine to drown out the memory.

'Maybe the guy from Sony has a thing for beautiful, swooning women?' Sam suggested hopefully, taking a sip of his own wine. 'You never know. Don't rule yourself out just yet.'

Mercedes sighed and nodded, taking a bite of her pumpkin risotto and wondering if Sam realised he'd just called her beautiful.

'I know.' She agreed. 'Blaine says the same thing, I just… it was such a spectacularly awful first impression, you know?'

'Yeah, I know.' Sam said kindly, 'but you never know what people are looking for.'

Sensing that his dinner date would probably prefer to get off this train of thought, Sam deftly changed the subject.

'So, you still talk to Blaine? How's he doing?'

Mercedes face lit up almost immediately at the mention of the former Warbler, and for some reason her reaction made Sam feel a stab of jealousy.

'Blaine is doing really well!' the woman enthused, her eyes bright. 'He's making a bit of a name for himself on Broadway at the moment, and he's just finishing up a run as the lead of a musical _off-_Broadway.'

'Oh.' Sam busied himself with cutting off a piece of his Salmon fillet and tried not to grip his knife too tightly, 'So he's in New York?'

'Mmhm.' Mercedes took another bite of her risotto and swallowed before she continued talking.

'Blaine, Rachel and I are the only ones who are really _settled _in New York. Kurt came for about a year while he attended NYADA, but it didn't take him long to realize that musical theatre really wasn't for him. He transferred to FIDM during his second year and graduated with a degree in Fashion Design instead. He landed an internship with Marc Jacobs a few years afterwards and now he splits his time between New York and Paris. That's why I see more of Blaine than I do of him these days. They reconnected after college, but more often than not it's long distance for them. Blaine and I keep each other company.'

'Oh.' Sam felt a little stupid for forgetting that Blaine was gay, but the way Mercedes face had lit up at the mention of his name had _done _something to him. Which it shouldn't have done, Sam reminded himself, because this was an _apology _dinner, _not _a date.

'Well, that's good. Good for them both.'

The pair of them ate in silence for a few minutes before Sam asked,

'So what about Rachel? And the other New Directions, of course, but didn't you say that only three of you ended up in New York?'

Mercedes swallowed the bite she'd just taken and nodded.

'Well, four now, if we include you.' She flashed Sam a beautiful smile and he found that his lips had automatically curved into a smile of their own in response.

'But, yeah, Rachel… didn't get into NYADA her first year of applying.' Mercedes face darkened as she recounted what Rachel had been like back then. 'She turned into this big emotional wreck, like, Rachel squared plus tears.'

Sam winced, he remembered Rachel Berry's theatrics all too clearly, her not getting into her college of choice sounded like a nightmare.

'But after a while, and a _lot _of talks from me and Kurt, she did a little soul searching and reapplied the following year with a bit more humility. Rachel got in that time, but I think she had a hard time of it after she graduated. She got a few small roles here and there, but her attitude didn't exactly help win her many friends. She basically had to eat a _huge _slice of humble pie before she started getting anywhere, but I think she's doing ok now.'

'You 'think'?' Sam asked, not missing the subtle implication in her words.

'Yeah…' Mercedes put her fork down again and dabbed at her mouth with her napkin, her eyes on the bowl of rice in front of her.

'Blaine was drawing attention that Rachel kind of… _resented, _and then I got this job that she _really _resented so…'

'What job?' Sam interrupted curiously.

'The lead in _Didn't We Almost Have It All_, the Whitney Houston musical.' Mercedes admitted, sounding weirdly ashamed of such a big achievement. 'I was in the show for about a year and a half before I left to try to pursue my own singing career, but Rachel… Rachel didn't like that I was the lead in a Broadway musical before she was.' Mercedes raised her wine class to her lips but didn't drink. Her eyes were on the dark red liquid in the glass but it looked like her mind was elsewhere.

'Rachel got really catty, even worse than usual. It was like she couldn't really understand how _I _had managed to get something that _she _wanted.' Mercedes shrugged. 'We'd try and go out together but Rachel would make it difficult. Her resentment showed, and after a horrible incident involving a drunk Rachel and someone wanting _my _autograph instead of hers…'

Mercedes shook her head and took a swig of her wine.

'I was actually going to give her another chance, but it was Blaine who warned me against it. If you can believe that.' Mercedes let out a humourless laugh and set her glass back on the table.

'He suggested that we both just let her be, instead of forgiving her for all the heinous things she says and does and enabling her to continue.' Mercedes shrugged again. 'It made sense, so we both gradually stopped trying to hang out with her. We figured that if she wanted to contact us she could, but she never did.'

Mercedes shrugged again and played with the silver handle of her fork.

'But getting on Broadway is quite an achievement.' Sam said gently, breaking Mercedes out of her reverie. 'You should be proud of that.'

'I know.' Mercedes smiled sadly at him, her eyes once again on her risotto. 'I _know_ I should be. It's just that, that time in my life is permanently coloured by the loss of an old friend now. It feels weird to celebrate it.'

Sam fought against his urge to form unkind opinions about Miss Rachel Berry, he was trying to learn his lesson from what had happened with Mercedes, but it was hard. He knew the brunette had always been uncomfortable with sharing the spotlight, and the girl had been known to be nothing less than cutthroat while they were in High School. No, Sam decided, it wouldn't surprise him in the slightest if Mercedes' story were true. He certainly didn't think the woman across from him was a liar, he just wasn't going to let himself be so quick to judge anymore.

'What about the others?' Sam asked brightly, wondering how he could get the sparkle back into Mercedes' eyes again. 'Tina, Mike, Puck, Artie… all of them.'

Mercedes nodded, looking grateful for the subject change.

'Um, Tina and Mike are still together. I think they're in England right now, with a new musical that Tina co-wrote and Mike choreographed. It's on at one of those big theatres over there, don't ask me which one because I can't remember.'

She smiled charmingly and gave a little shrug of her shoulders.

'Um…' Mercedes bit her lip as she thought and Sam found himself momentarily distracted by the plumpness of her mouth. He'd never really spent a lot of time looking at Mercedes' mouth before, but now that his attention had been drawn to it he was having a hard time looking away.

'Huh?' Sam asked stupidly when Mercedes lips started moving. 'What did you say?'

'I said that Artie is in Hollywood directing music videos at the moment, but the last time we spoke he said he was trying to branch out into independent movies. Puck is over in Orange County doing very well with his expanded pool cleaning business.'

A faint smile played on Mercedes' face as she thought of her formerly mohawked friend. 'He took a few night classes at a community college and he's actually an architect now. Said he got irritated with, and I quote, 'piss poor pool designs that didn't capitalize on the sweet sea breezes and natural heating properties of the California sunshine', and 'mansions that take up butt-loads of space and have nothing to show for it.'' Mercedes shook her head in amusement. 'The boy found his niche.'

Her grin widened with pride and Sam realized that he was genuinely happy to hear the news. He'd always liked Puck, and he was glad that the guy was on his feet and out of trouble.

'Go Puck.' Sam muttered, impressed, as he slid a forkful of salmon into his mouth.

'I know right!' Mercedes squeaked, then coughed, and by the time she spoke again her voice was back to normal. 'Although he goes by Noah now.'

'Let's see, what else? Uh, Finn _didn't _marry Rachel, as you've probably guessed. He stayed in Ohio and became a Sports Therapist. He's working with one of the colleges out there now, but it's the one whose team Papa Burt _doesn't_ support. It's forbidden to mention it by name. They make it sound like the Voldemort of schools but Papa Burt says he'll stop giving me free car service when I visit home if I don't follow the rules.'

Mercedes pulled a comically apologetic face and Sam snorted into his fork, almost choking when the bite of green beans he'd just taken threatened to go down the wrong pipe.

'Santana's a big shot lawyer in Boston now, and Brittany is a dance instructor in San Francisco.'

'They're not together?' Sam questioned his surprise at the news etched across his face,

'No.' Mercedes scooped up some more risotto and spooned it into her mouth. 'They broke up about halfway through Santana's second year of college - Brittany got held back a year.' She elaborated quickly. 'To hear them tell it, it was amicable, but I think Brittany decided she wanted something other than what she was getting.'

'And what about Quinn?' Sam asked after Mercedes had continued eating without saying anything else. He'd noticed that she'd left the former cheerleader off the list and the omission had piqued his curiosity. Even so, Sam found that his interest was passing rather than the detail hungry inquiry he might have expected of himself. Not for the first time, he was forced to confront the idea that perhaps he wasn't as hung up on Quinn as he'd tried to convince himself over the years.

'I thought you spoke to Quinn?' Mercedes responded, her eyes registering genuine confusion. 'Didn't you ask her?'

Sam shrugged, and fiddled with the napkin spread across his lap.

'I know she married your brother and that she's in California. Other than that I don't know anything.' He admitted with a shake of his blond head. 'Honestly, after she admitted to the cheating, and how wrong I was about you I… I kinda zoned out.'

Mercedes nodded and played with a curl of hair that had fallen over her shoulder.

'That's understandable.'

Sam waited for the 'except' or 'but' that he could hear coming in her voice, but she didn't say anything.

'What were you going to say?'

'Nothing.'

'You were. You can tell me. I won't bite.'

'I… I was just…' Mercedes put down her cutlery and looked at him earnestly, her eyes shining with befuddled curiosity. '_Why _did it matter so much, Sam? The whole Quinn thing, I mean? I _know_ I'm probably stepping over boundaries here but… I just don't _get it._'

Sam's eyes narrowed into a squint, but it wasn't directed at Mercedes. He'd been trying to work out the answer to that question himself since he'd gotten off the phone with Quinn, but so far he wasn't having much luck determining an answer.

'You know, I don't really know.' Sam admitted after a while. 'At first I thought it was love… but, over the years I started to wonder if that were really true. Right now I'm not sure I've ever even _been _in love.'

Sam peered down at the plate in front of him, trying to come up with an answer that made any kind of sense.

'I guess there's just something that's been missing since high school, and I assumed it was Quinn, but…'

'But now you're not so sure.' Mercedes finished for him and he nodded. 'I know the feeling.'

'You do?'

Mercedes nodded, her head tilted to one side as she regarded him. 'I felt the same way. Actually, I've been feeling like that since senior year. Maybe it's just the knowledge that our youth is getting away from us?'

Sam wasn't entirely convinced that that's what it was, but he couldn't think of a better explanation.

'I don't know, it feels like more than that somehow.'

Mercedes stopped and thought about what Sam was saying. In all honesty, it had been a while since she'd even thought about the feeling Sam was describing, it had been there for such a long time now that she'd just gotten used to it. Mercedes tilted her head to the side curiously.

'Yeah…' she agreed after a moment, 'yeah, I think I know what you mean.'

The two shared a look of mutual disquiet before Sam cocked a half smile and Mercedes shrugged to dismiss it.

'Can I ask you a question?' Sam asked, but he chewed his lip when Mercedes nodded, wondering how he was going to voice what he wanted to say.

'Well, I mean… is there someone… I mean, are you with anyone right now? I don't want to be stepping on anyone's toes.' Sam added hastily, wishing that he'd been gifted with more tact than he'd just displayed.

Mercedes sighed and shook her head, tracing her hair around her neck so it all fell over one shoulder.

'No…'

'Sounds like there's a story there.' Sam encouraged, although he had no idea why he was pressing the issue, part of him was just really interested in Mercedes' love life.

Mercedes tilted her head at him as if to say, '_really? You're pushing this?' _but she cleared her throat and started to tell him, the words falling out of her mouth as soon as she got started.

'I was in a relationship up to about a year and a half ago.' She explained, 'his name was August, and we were together for just over two years.'

Sam nodded and clenched his fork tighter, wondering why that information bothered him so much.

'What happened?' Sam asked, knowing he was prying, but hoping that Mercedes would reveal that August was a jerk so that he could feel justified in his instant dislike of the guy.

'He proposed.' Mercedes said quietly, taking another fortifying sip of wine.

'_He…'_ Sam started, shocked at Mercedes' calm admission. '_Oh…_ but you're not married.' Sam stated dumbly as realization dawned.

Mercedes gave him a tight smile and shook her head. 'No. I'm not.'

She sighed again and stared into her wine glass as if it held the answer to all life's problems.

'I said 'no'.'

Sam sat up straighter in his seat, but didn't say anything else. Somehow he could sense that it wouldn't be the right time.

'August wasn't a bad guy, it just… it didn't _feel _right.' Mercedes admitted, 'We lasted about a month after that, and then one day August sat me down and asked me, if I couldn't see myself being married to him, then where _did _I see us. That's when I realized that I didn't see _us _at all. So I ended it.' Mercedes gave a small, almost imperceptible shrug. 'He deserved better than me anyway.'

Sam reached out a hand to pat hers on the table. The gesture could have seemed awkward but in Mercedes' case he knew it was the right thing to do.

'So you parted on good terms.' Sam spoke, trying to find the silver lining in the dark cloud that had just descended over their conversation. 'That's good, right?'

Mercedes shot him a look that told him that the worst was still to come and shook her head.

'Nope. We parted ok, but then after a while I started hearing things from mutual friends.' Mercedes bit her lip, her eyes downcast as she carried on. 'I guess August got bitter, because he started saying things about me, things like how he was too good for me, how I was lousy in bed, how he 'pitied the poor sap that ended up tied to me for the rest of his life.' stuff like that. I could put up with most of it, I know I was the one that hurt him… but then I found out that August was telling people the things I'd told him in confidence, like my deepest secrets that I never really told anyone before. Stuff that I'd _trusted _him with.' Mercedes reached for her wine glass again, pleased to see that Sam had topped it up while she'd been talking.

'That hurt more than anything.' She admitted quietly before taking a large mouthful. 'I've seen him a couple of times since. It's usually him trying to goad me into a really tense and uncomfortable game of one upmanship.' Mercedes tried her best to smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Sam instantly regretted bringing the subject up.

'So now you know.' Mercedes cocked her head at him, 'all the dirty details.'

Sam's eyes registered concern as he fought to find the right words to say, but sometimes words failed him, and this was one of those times.

'How are Stacey and Stevie?' Mercedes asked, introducing a welcome change of subject after the moment had cleared. She placed her used napkin beside her empty bowl and leaned in to the table. 'They're pretty big now, right?'

'Right.' A look halfway between fear and astonishment crossed Sam's face as he filled Mercedes in on his younger siblings.

'They're nineteen now. Which I don't like to think about because it makes me feel old.' Sam's face lit up with pride as he went on, 'Stacey's _really _smart, she got a full ride academic scholarship to Princeton and she's about to start her second year there. She's training to be a therapist, and then Stevie… Stevie got a partial athletic scholarship to Memphis to play Baseball, and the last I heard he wanted to be an Aeronautical engineer.' Sam shrugged, although the pride in his face didn't dim any. 'He jumped around a lot during his first year, but he seems settled in this one.'

Mercedes looked shell-shocked as she tried to reconcile the image she had in her head of the little blonde 8 year olds with the accomplished adults Sam was describing. Sam laughed when he took in her expression, his eyes crinkling at the corners as a wide smile crossed his face.

'That look your wearing right now is pretty much how I feel every day.' Sam assured her as Mercedes' mouth formed a little 'o'.

'Trust me,' he continued, 'I was so much worse when Stacey told me she had a boyfriend.'

'Stacey has a _boyfriend_?' Mercedes demanded, slightly scandalised. _Stacey? _The little girl who would decisively informed her that 'boys were gross' whenever Mercedes had visited? _That _Stacey?

Mercedes mouth opened and closed like a fish.

'Mmm.' A dark look hovered on Sam's brow as he reached for his wine glass. 'I thought _that _too. Although I was probably imagining more shotguns at the time than you are.'

Mercedes couldn't stifle the giggle that escaped her at Sam's deadly serious expression. She didn't envy Stacey having to deal with overprotective Sam, but she tried her best to look sympathetic as she leaned over and patted Sam's hand. The unconvinced look he shot her in return didn't help her case at all when she burst out laughing again.

'This isn't funny!' Sam complained, his own smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as Mercedes continued to laugh heartily across the table.

'The guy is like 6'3" or something,' Sam explained, laughter hovering at the edge of his voice. 'And he looks at _least _twenty-five.'

'And how old is he actually?'

Sam mumbled the answer into the tablecloth, suddenly unwilling to meet Mercedes eyes.

'What was that?'

'I said he's actually twenty-one.' Sam sighed, his ears glowing a soft red. 'But he _looks _twenty-five.'

'And you _sound _like an overprotective pain in the butt!' Mercedes quipped back, sticking her tongue out at the blond when he looked up at her sharply.

'Well you do!' she told him defensively as by some magical mind-reading skill the waiter appeared at their table with the bill.

'I _know._' Sam sighed in defeat, as he waved away Mercedes' offer to pay. 'She's still my baby sister, though.' He explained, slipping his credit card into the leather wallet with the bill and handing it back to the waiter who gave a curt nod and departed. 'I'm always going to be protective.'

'I know.' Mercedes smiled tenderly at her dinner date, thinking warmly of her own brother and his threats to fly across the country should Sam try anything. 'Speaking from a little sister's point of view, it _can_ be kinda nice.'

Sam looked vindicated but Mercedes cut him off before he could get too comfortable with it. 'As long as you know the boundaries between protective and _overprotective_.'

'I know the boundaries!' Sam protested, but Mercedes just raised an eyebrow at him.

'You know them,' she allowed with a nod, 'but then it sounds like you completely disregard them.'

Sam looked offended until Mercedes said ,'shotguns' and reminded him of his words from a few minutes ago.

'Ok,' Sam admitted with a small, self-conscious laugh, as the waiter reappeared and handed him back his credit card and bill. 'I can own that.' He shot Mercedes a lopsided grin as he stood to help her on with her jacket before they made their way out of the restaurant.

They smiled comfortably at each other as Sam held the door open for Mercedes, and the two of them fell into a slow stroll as they began the walk back to Mercedes' apartment.

'So… how did I do?' Sam asked after they'd been walking a little while, his hands shoved deep in his jacket pockets as he breathed in the heavy night air. It was true what they said about New York, it was the city that never slept, and even though it was fairly late the city showed no signs of winding down.

'Hmm?' Mercedes had been studying the darkened storefronts as they passed but she looked up when Sam spoke. 'How did you do with what?'

'With the apology dinner.' Sam clarified, pulling his face into a comical teeth-exposing frown in the hopes that it would elicit more of Mercedes' warm laughter.

He wasn't disappointed as Mercedes threw her head back and laughed freely, nudging him with her shoulder as they continued walking.

_Mission accomplished_.

Sam couldn't keep the satisfied smile off his face. He hadn't realized that he'd missed Mercedes' laugh so much until he'd heard it again. There was just something so infectious about it.

'You did good.' Mercedes informed him with a slight nod of her head, the beautiful smile still on her lips.

'So, we're friends now?' Sam pressed as they turned a corner, his arm instinctively going around her waist to pull her out of the path of a group of people coming in the opposite direction.

Mercedes gave him an odd look when he didn't release her immediately, but nodded when he let go of her a split second later, suddenly paying a lot of attention to her shoes.

'Yeah, we're friends.'

'Yes!' Sam shot out as he punched the air. The gesture caught Mercedes' attention again and she shook her head at her old friend's antics.

'Still the old Sam I see.'

'Nah,' Sam protested with a shrug as he shoved his hand back into his pocket. 'This Sam is better, he's like… Sam 2.0. _RoboSam._'

He did a quick little robot dance and then beamed down at Mercedes, who didn't seem to be anything other than amused by his goofing off. Honestly, it had been a while since Sam had let himself be this dorky around a woman. Actually, Sam realized, he hadn't really let his inner dork out since _Quinn_. She'd hated it, but Mercedes had always been happy to listen to his impressions or have intense conversations with him about comic books or science fiction shows. _Had it really been that long since he'd indulged himself? _Sam wondered. Well, no, not really, he'd discuss that kind of thing with the guys he met at college, but still… never with the girls. _Huh._

'This is me.' Mercedes told him, interrupting his thought process, and Sam looked up to find that they were back in front of the bookstore Mercedes lived above.

'So it is.' Sam smiled warmly down at his short companion, and found himself hoping against hope that he wouldn't lose contact with her again. 'Let me walk you up.'

'_Sam.' _Mercedes protested her tone giving way to exasperation. 'It's _right there_, I highly doubt anything is going to happen to me in the fifteen steps to my apartment.'

The blond shrugged, his expression stoical, and somehow Mercedes knew that he would stay that way until she said yes.

'_Fine._' She accepted after a beat, rolling her eyes at the smile that crossed Sam's face.

Mercedes unlocked the outer door, and Sam followed her up the narrow steps to her apartment in silence. Once Mercedes had unlocked her door and Sam had been assured that there was nothing awful lurking in the shadows they prepared to say goodbye to one another. Things turned awkward when Sam realized that he didn't quite know what to do. A handshake seemed to formal, but would she go for a kiss on the cheek? Would that seem too presumptuous? Would she feel weird about a hug? The hug seemed the best choice, but…

Sam felt Mercedes' short arms wrap around his torso and squeeze slightly as she said goodnight to him before she quickly pulled away, offering him a shy smile as she fiddled with her keys.

'I had a good time tonight, Sam.' She told him, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear as Quinn and Carter's voices rang in her head. _It is __**not **__a date! _She told herself harshly to silence them, but for the first time that night she was feeling the nerves. _Damn them, _she thought bitterly.

'So did I.' Sam smiled down at her, not quite knowing what else to say. 'We should hang out again sometime.' He suggested, suddenly feeling nervous about it, 'you know, without the apology part.' Sam grinned again, feeling like a total dork, but he was relieved when Mercedes smiled back.

'We should.' She agreed as she stepped inside her apartment. 'But, let's shoot for under eleven years this time.'

Sam laughed and gave a slight nod as Mercedes waved goodbye to him.

'See you later, Sam.'

'See you, Cede.'

Mercedes closed the door as Sam made his way down the steps again, and it wasn't until she'd kicked off her heels and padded to the kitchen for a glass of water that she realized that Sam had started calling her 'Cede' again.

Sam could kill James. Ok, maybe not _kill _him, but he would happily smack him around the head or water his beer down a few times or something. Sam had driven half an hour out of the city to some carnival thing that James had promised him would be 'amazing', only to have James call Sam when he'd been there ten minutes already to cancel. By some weird twist of fate, Sasha had finally accepted James' dinner offer and the two had gone out together. James had been so flushed with his success that he'd forgotten that he'd agreed to meet with Sam that night. Sam had assured his friend that he'd be fine on his own, but that now meant that he was left wandering around the carnival alone.

Sam was just wondering if it would be weird to try to win _himself _a stuffed teddy when he felt a soft collision and heard a muffled 'oof' from somewhere around his chest. Instinctively, Sam reached out a hand to steady the person he'd run into, or who'd run into him, he wasn't sure.

'Sorry!' Sam apologized, choosing to go the safest route. 'Are you oka… _Cede?_'

Sam looked down to find himself looking into Mercedes' familiar face. It had been a while since their dinner, work had gotten crazy for Sam, and the pressure to pick a subspecialism was beginning to get to him but they'd traded the odd text since that night. This was the last place Sam would have expected to run into her thought.

'Sam?' Mercedes blinked her hair out of her eyes looking dazed for a second before a wide grin split her face. 'What are you doing here?'

'Um, trying not to look like a creeper wandering around a carnival on my own!' Sam laughed, feeling a million times happier than he had a few minutes ago. 'I was supposed to meet my best friend here but he cancelled on me last minute.' Sam explained. 'How bout you?' he asked, reaching out a hand to touch her arm and then wondering why he'd done it. 'What are you doing here?'

'Oh, I'm actually in a show, over on the main stage.' Mercedes jerked a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the medium sized stage that had been erected in one of the fields. 'It's like a Sound of the Musicals thing, Blaine's doing it too.' Mercedes smiled up at Sam, absently tugging on the turned up sleeves of her denim jacket as she babbled on. 'You should come! If you're not doing anything else that is.'

'I'd love to.' Sam nodded, his eyes not leaving Mercedes' face. 'Maybe we could go around the Carnival afterwards, if you're not bored with it by then.'

Mercedes gave a decisive shake of her head, her nose scrunching up adorably as she protested. 'I doubt that. I haven't had a chance to look at it. I've been in soundcheck since I got here and the assistants won't let me eat cotton candy.'

She stuck her bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout and Sam chuckled. It was funny, but when Mercedes did things like that Sam could be fooled into thinking that they were both still back in high school and the past eleven years were nothing but a dream. Briefly, Sam entertained thoughts of what he would do differently if he got his chance at high school again. Probably a lot of things, knowing what he did now.

'I'll make you a deal,' he told Mercedes after a moment, 'you save me from wandering around this Carnival alone and I'll provide the cotton candy.'

He held out his pinky and Mercedes linked it with hers, wondering if Sam could feel that weird feeling she got when she touched him. It felt like going from a busy street into a soundproofed room, like there was a stillness that she got with him that she hadn't found anywhere else.

Sam wondered if Mercedes shared the feeling he got when they touched. It startled him, but it was nice, and even when they lowered their hands their pinkies stayed linked between them. There was a brief moment when Sam considered holding her hand, when his palm brushed against the smooth skin of her wrist and their fingers caught. He lingered, and his thumb stretched out to rub at Mercedes' wrist almost of its own accord, but the moment was over in a second, and they both pulled their hands away afterwards as if it had never happened.

'So, what time are you on?' Sam asked after clearing his throat, squinting his eyes to look at the main stage.

Mercedes lifted her hand to check the slim silver watch on her wrist. 'About thirty minutes.' She winced, 'which means I have to go get changed. If you meet me by the backstage entrance after the show we can go around together afterwards?'

Sam looked at Mercedes' short, swishy summer dress that showed off her shapely legs, her flat knee high brown boots and matching thin brown belt that cinched in her waist and the cropped dark blue denim jacket that she'd thrown on over the top. Her hair hung in ringlets down her back and she'd left it loose aside from a slim gold headband that kept the hair off her face.

'You're changing?' Sam raised a questioning eyebrow, which Mercedes countered with a hand to her hip.

'Sam Evans! You really think I could go out on stage dressed like this?'

Sam shrugged. 'I don't see why not. You look really pretty the way you are.'

Mercedes looked like she didn't know whether to smile or ask him if he was crazy.

'Well… thanks… I guess. But yes, I am changing.'

Sam nodded. 'Ok, well. I guess I'll see you backstage in… um, how long is the show?'

'Only about an hour or so.' Mercedes gave Sam a consoling pat on the arm. 'I know, it's kinda lame, but it pays my bills so…'

'No!' Sam stopped her quickly, 'I don't mind at all, I've always loved hearing you sing. It's just that the lines are going to be a lot longer in an hour, and I _really _want to go on the bumper cars.'

Mercedes shot the blond overgrown child masquerading as an adult a bemused look.

'Uh huh.' She broke into a smile before she checked her watch again and pulled a face. 'I _really _have to get going, but I'll see you in an hour and a half!'

Mercedes waved as she set off quickly in the direction of the main stage, and Sam blew out a breath from his cheeks. He was glad he'd run into Mercedes. If he were honest, he'd been thinking about her a lot, but he'd been too busy (and a little too chicken) to call her. Sam had had a good time at their apology dinner, but he'd succumbed to the worry that Mercedes didn't _really _want to spend any more time with him. They'd cleared the air and everything, but what if that had been enough for her? It wasn't really enough for Sam, but with work and his doubts he'd managed to convince himself that he was doing the right thing by not calling her.

Sam busied himself with wandering around the carnival site to familiarize himself with the layout until it was time to make his way over to the main stage. The concert was included in the cover charge to get into the carnival and there was no set seating, but even so Sam was surprised to find that the rows of seating closest to the stage were already full when he arrived. He managed to get an ok spot near the middle, but he was a little disappointed that he wouldn't be able to see Mercedes better. And Blaine, Sam reminded himself belatedly, Blaine too.

When the band started up and Mercedes and Blaine stepped out from backstage, it became obvious why Mercedes had reacted the way she had when Sam had suggested she not change. His breath actually caught in his throat as Blaine, dressed in a dark suit and bowtie, gripped Mercedes hand and helped her up onto the stage.

She looked _incredible_. Her hair was still loose, but she'd forsaken the headband in favour of pinning two strands of hair up at the sides, and she'd replaced the simple earrings she'd been wearing earlier with large chandelier ones made of some kind of clear gem that shimmered and sparkled when they caught the light. Her hair cascaded over her bare shoulders and Sam's gaze traveled down to the sweetheart neckline of her corseted strapless red dress and further down to see how the fabric flared out at the hips slightly before falling gently to the floor. Overall Mercedes' look was classic and demure, _and sexy as __**hell.**_

Sam bit his lip as Blaine and Mercedes introduced themselves and bantered a little bit before launching into their first song, a version of _Anything You Can Do _from Annie Get Your Gun_. _The two of them played up the rivalry, egging on the crowd with facial expressions and little teased adlibs but as the night wore on the songs became more serious. Sam was able to hear the changes eleven years and Broadway had made to the voices he'd heard so often in high school, and truth be told he was impressed.

Mercedes left the stage for a while as Blaine sang a selection of songs from the shows he'd been in, and then Mercedes came on and sang some of the songs from _Didn't We Almost Have It All. _Sam actually felt himself get teary eyed when she performed her version of _I Will Always Love You _and he was pretty sure he clapped louder than anyone else when she was done.

After that, Blaine came back out onto the stage and the pair sang a few duets together, displaying way more chemistry than he would have guessed. They sang a pretty tune that the program said was called _Written in the Stars _from a musical that Sam had never heard of called _Aida. _Then they did one from _Wicked, _a musical that he would probably be able to sing in his sleep thanks to Kurt and Rachel's obsession with it in High School. As the hour wound down, Blaine and Mercedes finished up with a Disney medley that put smiles on the faces of almost everyone in the audience, and the two of them were clearly having a blast singing it. When the concert was over Sam rose to his feet and joined the rest of the crowd in giving the pair a standing ovation. Blaine bowed and elicited a series of giggles from Mercedes when he kissed her on the cheek after she'd given her own little curtsy. The singer giggled as she and Blaine waved goodbye to the audience and made their way off the stage to continued rapturous applause.

Both singers returned to the stage for an encore as the applause continued and Sam couldn't help but laugh at the pair's hilarious rendition of _The Song That Goes Like This _from _Spamalot_. That truly _was _their final song, and after that both Blaine and Mercedes left the stage for good. Sam stood up, his program still clutched in his hand as he filed out with the rest of the concert goers to head over to the backstage entrance and wait for Mercedes.

It didn't take long for the woman in question to emerge, and when she did Sam was pleased to find that she'd changed out of the red dress that made it hard for him to concentrate, and back into the clothes she'd had on before. Sam assumed the dress had found its way into the suit bag she now had slung over her arm.

Mercedes caught Sam's eye almost the instant she'd stepped out and favoured him with a warm smile, but she was prevented by going straight over by a small group of fans and well-wishers who had stayed behind hoping for autographs and photographs. A few minutes later Sam was at her side and prying the dress bag out of her arms so she'd be free to sign programs and pose for photographs with her fans.

The fact that Mercedes had loyal fans wasn't at all unexpected for Sam. Although he'd never said it in high school, the doctor had always expected to see Mercedes name up in lights someday. Still, Sam imagined that for someone like Rachel, Mercedes' success must have come as something of an unpleasant shock. In high school at least, Rachel had always been too blinded by her own light to truly consider anyone else's, and it didn't surprise him at all that the woman had found it difficult to cope with Mercedes' triumphs.

All thoughts of Rachel Berry promptly flew out of Sam's head moments later, however, when Mercedes made her way over to him with a soft smile on her pretty face.

'You were amazing.' Sam said straight away when Mercedes finally reached him, his ears glowing red as he looked down at her, his mind temporarily blank. It occurred to him that even though he'd technically known Mercedes for a while, he was still a little bit starstruck after seeing her perform the way she had.

'Thank you.' The dark haired woman dipped her head graciously, a large smile on her face as she reached to take her dress bag back.

'Oh no!' Sam swiveled his body so the bag was out of Mercedes reach and fixed her with a teasingly stern glare. '_Stars_ do not carry their own bags.' His face broke out into a lopsided grin when Mercedes' response was to just shake her head and give in, clearly already aware that to try and argue with Sam would be futile. 'Where to, Miss Jones?'

'First of all,' Mercedes informed him with an amused roll of her eyes, 'you are silly. And second, I drove up with Blaine so I'll dump my stuff in his car. Then we can go.'

'Is Blaine going to be joining us?' Sam asked as they started walking slowly towards where her co-star had parked, he hoped that the little pang of disappointment he felt hadn't made it into his voice, but he couldn't be sure.

'I don't think so.' Mercedes bit her lip before turning back to the entrance she'd just come from. Blaine was doing the same greeting routine she'd just gone through and she stopped Sam so they could wait for him.

'Hey, you guys!' Blaine jogged up to them after the last of the fans had left, a wide grin on his face as he held out his hand for Sam to shake.

'Sam Evans!' The shorter man shook his head in wonder, 'It's been a while, huh?'

'It definitely has.' Sam returned the warm smile Blaine gave him as he pumped the other man's hand. Like Mercedes, Blaine had carried his suit with him in a bag draped over his arm.

'Mercy said something about the two of you going around the carnival?' Blaine said, jerking his head back in the direction of the carnival as they all walked over to his car.

Sam nodded, watching out of the corner of his eye as Mercedes did the same.

'You're welcome to join us, if you want.' Sam suggested, just to be polite, although he was using all the powers of the Force to get Blaine to say no.

Blaine's face fell apologetically as he unlocked the door to his black Mini Cooper and hooked his suit bag on the hook next to the back seat. He emerged briefly to take Mercedes' bag from Sam, and he hung it up next to his own before shutting the door and turned back to face them.

'I was actually going to head back pretty soon.' Blaine admitted with a little grimace that was mostly directed at Mercedes. 'I'm sorry, babe, but I have that _thing _tomorrow…'

'Say no more.' Mercedes interrupted kindly, raising her hand to stop her friend from continuing.

'Well, I _can_ stick around for a little while if you wanted to stay...'

Picking up Blaine's implied meaning, Sam quickly cut in. 'I can drop Mercedes back.' he spoke first to the former Warbler before turning to address Mercedes directly.

'I mean, I can drop you home if you wanted.' He cleared his throat. 'Or, you know, if you wanted to go with Blaine that would be cool too. No pressure to stay with me or anything.'

Blaine dropped his head to hide his knowing smirk when Mercedes laughed softly and gave the blonde a playful tap on the chest.

'I'm not going to ditch you.' She promised, 'We said bumper cars and cotton candy, remember? We had a deal.' Sam smiled gratefully down at her and caught Mercedes gaze as she returned his smile with one of her own. Sam felt himself getting lost in the warm, chocolatey brown of Mercedes' eyes. There was so much depth to them, and beauty… and _heat._ Sam watched as Mercedes' eyes darkened and knew for certain that his eyes were doing the same. Mercedes tongue swiped at her lips as she caught the dark heat of Sam's gaze on her own. His normally sage green eyes had darkened to a forest green, and Mercedes was fairly certain that she could get just as lost in them as she could in any other wilderness, but she wasn't sure that she cared.

The two of them stayed looking at each other for a long moment before the sound of Blaine pointedly clearing his throat drew their attention away from each other. Sam and Mercedes both looked up to find the Broadway star looking at them with a single, raised eyebrow.

'Oh, shut up!' Mercedes scoffed before he could say anything and pulled him in for a deep hug. 'Drive safe.' She commanded, swatting at Blaine's back when she felt him chuckle into her shoulder.

'Yes, _Mom._'

'You'll feel the back of my hand like yo' mamma.' Mercedes griped half-heartedly, which only earned her another charming smile from her best friend.

Blaine took Sam's hand again, clasping it between both of his own as he shook it.

'You'll get her home safe, right?'

'Or die trying.'

'That is _so _not reassuring.' Mercedes pointed out from between them, taking both men in with her irritated look. 'I _can _be responsible for my own wellbeing you know.'

'I know.' Sam gave an unaffected shrug as he shoved his hands in his pockets, 'I know you don't _need _to be taken care of, but maybe we _like _taking care of you.'

'Right.' Blaine nodded in agreement, sounding completely serious, and Mercedes rolled her eyes again.

'You all need a hobby.'

'I've always wanted to try topiary.' Sam told Blaine in mock-serious tones and the other man nodded earnestly, following his lead.

'Personally, I've always had a fondness for paper maché.' Blaine told him, doing a little flourish in the air with his fingers as he pronounced the French word. In unison, the two of them turned to look at Mercedes, who had her hands on her hips and an unimpressed look on her face as she considered them both. The two men looked from Mercedes back to one another and burst out laughing.

'I'm glad _you _think you're funny.' Mercedes complained through her own giggles, losing her battle to keep a straight face horrendously as Blaine wrapped his arms around her again and whispered something in her ear that made her shake her head. Blaine planted a kiss on her cheek before he pulled away.

'I'll see you guys.' Blaine nodded to them both as he unlocked his car door and slid behind the wheel.

'Call me after your _thing_?' Mercedes said just before he closed his door, and he wound down his window a few seconds later to answer her.

'Don't I always?'

Blaine rolled over the engine and reversed out of the temporary parking spot. An impish look crossed his face as he drove past them, and just before he left the park he leaned out of his window to yell,

'Just out of interest, how many non-datesis it going to take before you two go on a _real _one?'

The brunette laughed as he caught sight of his best friend's shocked face. He knew that he was probably going to get it tomorrow, but he was also pretty sure that it was worth it. He spotted Mercedes in his rear view mirror opening her mouth to say something in response and leaned out his window again to add, 'It was rhetorical, Mercy!'

The expression on his best friend's face when he'd said that kept a smile on his own for the whole journey home.

'I am… _so _sorry.' Mercedes said after Blaine had gone, her cheeks heating up with embarrassment. 'He's…' she shook her head, unable to come up with an explanation for her friend's behaviour other than that he wanted to torture her. _And he'd managed to convince himself that there was something _'more' _between her and Sam, _Mercedes added internally. She figured she'd be sending Kurt condolence flowers in Paris soon, because it was highly likely that she would be murdering Blaine.

'Um, it's ok.' Sam looked about as embarrassed as Mercedes felt, and unfortunately for him, he wasn't able to hide his blushes as well as she could. 'So…' Sam started, eager to change the subject, 'Cotton candy first or afterwards?'

Mercedes offered the blond a grateful smile before she bit her lip.

'You wanted to go on the bumper cars, right?'

Sam nodded eagerly and Mercedes pulled a face. 'Then definitely after,' she decided quickly, 'I don't want to throw up on you.'

Sam didn't want that either, but instead of saying that he just shrugged and offered her his arm. 'I could handle it. I'm a doctor, you know.'

Mercedes laughed and copied his overly-bright tone.

'Youknow, I_ thought_ I'd heard that somewhere?'

The two of them went on most of the rides in carnival, even going on some of them more than once, like the Tilt-A-Whirl, but after about an hour and a half both of them were ready to do something less energetic.

'Ready for that Cotton candy now?' Sam asked, draping a casual arm over the small woman's shoulders. 'I think I'm getting old. I feel like I used to have more stamina than this.'

'You work long hours.' Mercedes excused as she steered the blond towards a stall selling various refreshments, including old school sticks of bright pink cotton candy.

They had a slight disagreement when, once again, Mercedes tried to insist on paying. Sam won out in the end, but Mercedes insisted that they share the confection anyway. The two of them spent the next 30 minutes or so wandering around the park, laughing at various things and alternately tearing pieces off the stick of cotton candy in Mercedes' hand. They were having a lively discussion about what stalls they'd have the best chance of winning each other stuffed animals at when Mercedes stopped dead in her tracks and then dived behind Sam.

'_Crap!_'

'What?' Sam was on instant alert as Mercedes peered around his shoulder, her hands curled around his arms as she moved her head back in to nestle into his back.

'My ex is over there.' Mercedes explained from behind him.

'The ex you didn't want to marry?' Sam questioned, '_that _ex?'

Mercedes didn't say anything, but he felt her nod against him and he ushered her beside him so he could drop a friendly arm around her shoulders.

'So? I thought _you_ broke up with _him_?'

'I _did, _but…'

'Oh hey, Mercedes!'

The man that approached them was all smiles as he clutched the arm of a tall, skinny black woman in the crook of his own.

'I thought I saw you!' he grinned some more, his teeth bright white against the tanned skin of his face. Maybe it was what Mercedes had told him about the man, but it was almost like Sam was hit with a wall of dislike for the guy in front of him.

'Hi August.' Mercedes plastered a smile on her face and reached out to shake the man's hand, her eyes drifting to the woman beside him as, no doubt, August had wanted them to.

'Oh, how rude of me!'

August presented the woman next to him as though he were waving the crown jewels under the nose of a commoner. 'This is Tamera.'

'Call me Tammy.' The woman said pleasantly, extending a hand to Sam for him to shake. 'And you are?'

'I'm Sam.' Sam smiled, taking Tammy's hand and shaking it before he let go and pulled Mercedes to his side, one hand resting familiarly on her hip. 'This is Mercedes.' The blond smiled down at her fondly and Mercedes smiled back, all the while trying to telegraph to him with her eyes that she didn't know what the _heck _he was playing at.

Sam pretended not to see the confusion in Mercedes' eyes as he turned to August and extended a hand out to the other man.

'August, right?' Sam clarified, although he knew full well who the guy was. He pitched his tone so August would know that he'd heard about him, but not whether it was good or bad. _That'd serve the guy right for starting rumours about Cede. _Sam thought triumphantly as a look of concern flashed across August's face.

'Yeah…' the man answered, squeezing Sam's hand a little bit tighter than necessary. 'And you are?'

'Sam. Sam Evans.' Sam smiled brightly at the couple in front of him as he dropped August's hand.

'Oh.' August looked the blond up and down in a way that was obviously intended to make the other man feel small, but it backfired when Sam seemed to neither notice or care.

'I didn't think you liked carnivals.' August stated flatly as he turned his attention back to Mercedes, and Sam felt her tense under his arm.

'I was performing.' She answered quietly, the animation gone from her voice.

'Oh really?' August cocked his head to one side. 'And here I was thinking you'd be a big star by now.'

The words could have sounded like a compliment, if it hadn't been for the way August said them, his eyes contemptuous as he looked down on a shrinking Mercedes.

'Tamara is a dancer.' August continued, 'She's worked with a lot of the big name talents. It's a shame we missed your performance, maybe she could have given you some insider tips.'

August kept his eyes steady on Mercedes as he spoke, apparently not wanting to miss any reaction he could provoke from her. Sam got it, the guy had been hurt when Mercedes had turned down his marriage proposal, but as far as he was concerned there was absolutely no reason for him to be trying to cut her down the way he was. Mercedes didn't deserve it.

'Yes, it really is a shame.' Sam piped up his eyes fixed on August, 'Mercedes was incredible. She blows every other singer out of the water.'

He looked down to give Mercedes a reassuring look and felt a little better when she managed a small grateful smile in return.

'You'll change your mind' August interrupted them with a laugh that had an edge of cruelty to it. 'How many of these things has she dragged you to? I remember going to what felt like hundreds.' The man rolled his eyes as he pantomimed boredom, looking to Sam as if to include him in the joke, but the blond wasn't smiling.

'Actually, I didn't know she was performing.' Sam informed the other man tightly, 'If I had I would have gotten front row seats. I love hearing Cedes sing. Always have.'

'Oh…' August ignored the tension in Sam's words and nodded. 'So you two aren't together?' he looked at Mercedes and gave her a simpering smile. 'So you caught another one in your net. That's a shame, Mer. I really thought you would have found someone by now.'

'He's not 'in my net', August.' Mercedes shot back tersely.

'But you're not together, are you?' August asked, his voice was light but his tone revealed the jibe. The tall man smirked when Mercedes didn't come up with a retort and pulled Tammy in closer to him by the waist. August apparently missed the intense side eye his girlfriend was giving him, Tammy wasn't stupid, and it wasn't hard to see what her boyfriend was trying to do. The look she was giving him was meant to inform him that she didn't find it at _all _cute, but August was completely oblivious.

Sam felt his hand curl into a fist by his side as Mercedes' chin dropped slightly in the face of August's barbs. He may have only just reclaimed his friendship with her, but there was no way Sam was going to just stand by and let someone step all over her spirit. Mercedes had been with August long enough for him to learn her weaknesses, and he was using them all now to try and lord it over her.

Sam dropped his arm to rest his hand in the dip of her waist and absently rubbed small comforting circles into Mercedes' skin with his thumb.

'Well, it was nice running into y'all and everything.' Sam spoke into the heavy silence that hung around them. 'But I've got some stuffed animals to win with Mercedes' name on 'em, so if you'll excuse us.'

'Oh, sure.' August nodded with false joviality, his eyes flicking briefly to Mercedes to see if she was still listening. 'Good luck with that though, Mercy used to hate that kind of thing.'

Sam tightened his arm around Mercedes' waist and started to lead her over to one of the booths they'd had their eyes on before August had entered the picture.

'Maybe she just hated it when you did it.' Sam suggested calmly, flashing the other man one last charming smile before he turned to shake Tammy's hand again.

'It was a pleasure meeting you, ma'am.' He told her warmly before he turned away and walked Mercedes away from them both.

Sam hadn't missed the looks Tammy had been shooting August throughout the conversation, and he knew that the other man was going to get it as soon as they were out of earshot, and _not_ in the good way.

'Thanks.' Mercedes said quietly once they had moved far enough away from her ex and his new girlfriend. Sam could still feel their eyes, but he couldn't find it in himself to be concerned as long as Mercedes was ok.

'I'm usually not as docile as that.' She promised, 'it's just that the break up was kind of my fault, so he has every right to be pissed at me.'

'_Whoa._' Sam stopped walking and took hold of Mercedes' shoulders so he could turn her to look at him. 'No.'

She raised an eyebrow at him, 'That's it? 'No'?'

'_No…' _Sam shook his head, 'August is an ass. He doesn't deserve you, and if that's the guy he turns into when he doesn't get his own way then he _never _deserved you. Let's be real here, Cedes, you did that guy a _favour. _You didn't trap him into a marriage that was never going to work, and you stopped him from making a mistake. Really, he _owes _you. I get it, it hurt, but it _doesn't _give him the right to talk to you like that, and goddammit if I see you take it like that again, Cede, I will be _so_ mad.'

Mercedes bit her lip, surprised at how quickly Sam had sprung to her defence.

'You'll get mad if _I _don't get mad?' She clarified, and Sam nodded. Mercedes thought for a moment and then asked, 'Are you mad at me now?'

Sam let go of her shoulders and ran a hand through his hair, his other arm automatically finding its place around Mercedes' shoulders again as he spoke.

'No. I'm pissed at _August _right now.' He explained, 'But you'll be selling yourself short if you continue to let him talk to you like that. You're _Mercedes Jones._' Sam enthused, his low and excited as he said her name. 'You're the frickin' cream rising to the top! … but _that _guy treats you like you're curdled milk. If he doesn't see how awesome you are, then that's his loss. It just upsets me a little bit to see you treat him as if he's right.'

Mercedes raised an eyebrow as the spark August had chased away reentered her eyes.

'Didn't you _just _stop hating me?' She teased, pretending to look thoughtful as they started walking again.

'Yes, I did.' Sam owned with an affirmative nod of his head, 'but I accept that I was a dumbass. August is still parading around thinking he's the smart one.'

Independently they both turned to look back in the direction they had come from and watched as August hastily looked away, pretending that he hadn't been watching them.

'Hey, Cede? What did he mean when he said I was 'caught in your net'?' Sam asked curiously as he turned away from Mercedes' ex-boyfriend to look at her.

'Ugh, _that_.' Mercedes wound her arm around Sam's waist and lifted her hand to brush a strand of hair away from her neck.

'He used to say that I picked up gay friends like I was trawling with an invisible net.' Mercedes said shooting a bitter look in August's direction. 'He was such a _douche_.' She commented as they neared a rifle-shooting stall. Anyway, I guess he assumed that you were gay.' She shrugged, 'he knows you aren't now.'

Sam thought back to what August had said and felt the fresh wave of annoyance rush over him at the way the other man had implied that no one would want Mercedes.

'What a dick.' Sam grumbled under his breath, but Mercedes was close enough to hear him.

'Because he thought you were gay?' she asked carefully but Sam clenched his teeth and shook his head.

'Because of the way he tried to imply that no one would want you.' He corrected, adding a beat later. 'Why are you frowning at me?'

'Why are you being all knight in shining armour-y?'

'I'm not!' Sam protested as they joined the line for the rifle game. 'But you're my friend and some douchebag upset you, that just doesn't sit right with me.'

'Aww!' Mercedes leaned into him, one hand pressed flat against his chest as she hugged him. She put up the pretence of being overly emotional that really wasn't very far from the truth. '"You like me, you really like me!"'

Sam's chest jumped under Mercedes' hand as he laughed. 'Yes, thank you, Sally Field.' He tried to look unimpressed but the corners of his mouth tugged up in a smile as they moved forward in the queue.

Out the corner of his eye he could see August still watching them from a little ways away. Tammy was trying her luck with the ring toss, but August's attention was elsewhere. He seemed determined that Mercedes notice him 'having fun' with a new woman.

_What is this guy's __**problem**__? _Sam thought as Mercedes noticed August and quickly grew uncomfortable under his gaze.

Watching Mercedes gave Sam an idea, although he wasn't sure that his impromptu non-date would go for it. Still, the longer he felt August watching them the more attractive the idea seemed.

'Hey Cede,' Sam leaned down to whisper into the shell of Mercedes ear, 'If I did something that was guaranteed to piss of August without hurting anyone would you go for it?'

Mercedes shivered at the sound of Sam's deep voice and bit her lip. 'I feel like I should say no, but he's creeping me out with that staring thing, so… what do you have in mind?'

Sam leaned in even closer and almost went dizzy from the rush he got from the smell of her perfume.

'Don't worry, all you have to do is follow my lead.' Sam smiled against Mercedes' temple as he continued. 'You know, I took a couple of psychology courses in medical school.' Sam whispered into Mercedes' ear, the tickle of his breath making her smile.

'Oh yeah?'

'Mmhm…' Sam hummed against her ear and she scrunched her shoulder up from the vibration. 'One of the things they taught us,' Sam said lowly, his fingers trailing lazily up Mercedes arm to rub slow circles on her shoulder, 'is that in a lot of cases the merest _suggestion _of sex is enough...'

Mercedes shivered under his touch and Sam smiled into her neck, watching August shift uncomfortably out the corner of his eye.

'And what does that mean?' Mercedes turned to face him, her brown eyes intent on him as their faces hovered bare inches away from each other.

'It means,' Sam leaned in to whisper the words against her mouth, not letting their lips touch, 'that I'm _suggesting _to August that we're sleeping together.' He moved away from Mercedes' mouth to nuzzle at her neck, her hand coming up to grip his bicep as his hands snaked around her waist.

'You're up!'

The attendant at the booth interrupted as a spot opened up on one of the rifles. Sam nodded and disengaged himself from Mercedes so he could step up to the booth. Sam fished a few bills out of his pocket and handed them over to guy running the stall.

'_That_ was for August.' Sam informed Mercedes, who was having a little trouble catching her breath. 'But winning you this stuffed purple horse is gonna be _all _me.'

**(Continued in Part 2)**


	6. Edit 4: Mono part 2

The next day found Blaine languishing on the couch in Mercedes' apartment while the raven haired singer busied herself in the kitchen. As promised, he'd phoned after his 'thing' – his and Mercedes non-jinxy code word for an audition- but he'd kept the call brief, claiming that he'd rather speak to her face to face instead.

'So,' Mercedes called, stepping out of the kitchen, 'I don't understand. If your audition went well then why did you need to come over?'

Blaine accepted the steaming mug of tea Mercedes handed him gratefully and smiled.

'Because if I'd tried to talk to you about what I _want_ to talk to you about on the phone you would have hung up on me.'

Although she had a pretty good idea what Blaine wanted to talk about, Mercedes chose to play dumb.

'Oh?' she asked, raising a questioning eyebrow as she sipped at her tea.

Blaine shook his head at his best friend's attempt at evasion and set his mug on the coffee table between them.

'Come on, Mercedes. Don't pretend like you don't see the giant purple horse in the room.'

'Mr. Stompers is _not _giant!' Mercedes protested, leaning over to pick up the cat-sized stuffed horse from where it was perched on the couch next to Blaine.

Blaine fixed her with a knowing look that Mercedes chose to ignore. 'Ok, then what about this one?' he asked, picking up the red version of the stuffed horse Mercedes was holding and waving it at her.

'Lady Lightfoot is Sam's.' Mercedes answered matter-of-factly as she absently played with Mr. Stompers' white mane.

'And _why_ is it here?' Blaine asked carefully, watching as Mercedes continued to play with the toy in her lap.

Mercedes giggled slightly, 'because Sam says that Lady Lightfoot and Mr. Stompers are courting, and it would be cruel to split them up.' She rolled her eyes slightly at the ridiculousness of it, but she couldn't stop the small smile that played on her lips as she thought of the way Sam had pouted on her doorstep when she'd initially refused to take in the horse she'd won him.

'See, _that!' _Blaine exclaimed loudly, pointing an accusing finger at Mercedes absent smile. '_That_ is what I'm talking about. You and Sam pretending that you _aren't _'You-and-Sam'.'

'We're _not…'_ Mercedes started but Blaine cut her off with a shake of his head.

'Are you seriously trying to tell me that you don't feel anything when you're with him?' he demanded, and Mercedes shifted awkwardly in her seat.

'I… I mean, _we have fun._' Mercedes admitted noncommittally, 'Sam's a good guy, but we're just friends.'

There was a loud smack as Blaine slapped both hands over his face.

'Wow, dramatic much?'

'Mercedes… _babe_.' Blaine began, his eyes imploring, 'you're smarter than this. You _know _the two of you don't interact like friends.'

'We only just met again after_ eleven years_.' Mercedes protested, 'During which time he thought he hated me.' She added, 'Maybe we aren't friends _yet_, but we're working on it.'

'That is _so _not what I'm talking about.'

'Then what _are _you talking about?' Mercedes blurted out, her patience wearing thin. 'Why does everybody keep acting like there's some kind of secret inevitability to Sam's and my relationship? We're friends. _Just _friends and there's nothing more to it than that!'

Mercedes leaned back in her chair and clutched Mr. Stompers to her chest as the memory of the little display she and Sam had put on for August came floating back to her. There had been a moment then, when Mercedes had entertained the thought that there might be potential for something more between the two of them, but it hadn't lasted very long. Sam was a good guy, but it had been a long time since she'd really known him, and their history was far from ideal. Yes, it had felt good being in his arms, but it had also been a long time since she'd been in _anyone's _arms, and it was likely that she would have had exactly the same reaction to any other man who had treated her the same way.

'You are so very frustrating.' Blaine told her seriously with a slight shake of his head. 'It's like it's _right in front of your face _and you're refusing to see it.'

'_What's _right in front of my face?' Mercedes demanded, losing patience with everyone acting as if they knew something she didn't when it came to her relationship with Sam.

Blaine sighed and resettled himself on the couch again. 'I'm not going to tell you, because one of these days you're going to see it for yourself.'

Mercedes made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat and changed the subject before she could give into the urge to throttle her friend.

Several hours later, Mercedes and Blaine were watching a movie when her phone chimed. Mercedes fished it out of her pocket and found an irrepressible smile dawning on her face when she saw the message she'd received was from Sam.

Although he'd insisted that Lady Lightfoot stayed at Mercedes' place, Sam _had _kept the two goldfish Mercedes had won him on the hook-a-duck stall. He'd delightedly named them 'Arthur' and 'Gwen', and the message he'd sent her was a picture of the toy castle he'd bought to decorate their fish bowl.

_**You are way too excited about this. **_Mercedes texted back, smiling to herself when her phone chimed again with Sam's response.

**What's not to be excited about? Camelot has risen!**

_**I can't believe I thought medical school would iron the nerdiness out of you.**_

**No way! Nerd life 5eva. **Her phone chimed again a few seconds later, **(dat mean more dan 4eva.)**

The surprised snort of laugher Mercedes produced had Blaine shooting her a suspicious look from across the couch. She smiled sweetly back at the brunette before surreptitiously setting her phone to silent and texting back.

_**LOL! And to think I let you put stitches in my head.**_

**You liked it ;) How is your head btw?**

_**It's pretty much healed. There's a scar, but it's small and my hair covers it. My doc said you did a great job actually.**_

**Glad to hear it, and what can I say? I'm awesome.**

_**And oh, so humble!**_

**I know, right! I took lessons from Kanye.**

Mercedes let out a derisive snort and Blaine leaned over to hit pause on the DVD.

'Am I watching this movie by myself?' the actor asked pointedly as he folded his arms across his chest.

'Sorry!' Mercedes put the phone down guiltily and smiled apologetically at her best friend. 'You're right. No more phone.'

Blaine adjusted the collar of his cardigan and narrowed his eyes at her inquisitively. 'Who were you even texting anyway?'

Mercedes hesitated before answering, knowing that it would only add more fuel to whatever theory Blaine had come up with when she did.

'Sam.'

Blaine rolled his eyes and dropped his hand to rest lightly on Lady Lightfoot's back. He hadn't realized that he'd been clutching the toy tighter and tighter during the course of the movie.

'You know what? I don't even care.' Blaine announced, rocking the toy slightly in his lap. 'Whatever it is that's going on between you two, it's putting the kind of smile on your face I haven't seen since before August came into your life.'

'August really did suck for me didn't he?' Mercedes said thoughtfully as she slid down the couch to settle herself under the arm Blaine held out for her.

'He _really _did.' Blaine agreed with a nod, planting an affectionate kiss on the top of Mercedes' head before he reached for the remote to unpause the movie.

'Oh, before I forget,' Blaine stopped with his finger hovering over the play button. 'I spoke to Kurt this morning. He wants to know if you want him to send over a dress for you for Finn's wedding.'

Mercedes groaned and buried her head in Blaine's chest. 'Finn's wedding.' She whined into the wool of his cardigan. 'I forgot about the wedding. How many weeks is it now?'

'Five.' Blaine said, completely used to moments like these with Mercedes. He adjusted his slim, black-framed glasses on his face and lowered his head to look at her.

'I thought you were looking forward to going home?'

'I _am._' Mercedes explained, 'but I'm _not. _You know?'

Blaine nodded. 'You want to see everyone, but you know that everyone will be all up in your business.'

'_Exactly_.' Mercedes confirmed, leaning away from him to look the brunette in the eye. 'And what can I say? "I had an audition with a bunch of labels but tanked it when I almost died?" That's theworst. Everyone else is having babies and running successful productions and shit.'

'Youwere _in_ a successful production.' Blaine reminded her, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. 'And you don't know for sure that you tanked that audition. You just haven't heard anything yet.'

'I _know_, but shouldn't I have heard already?' Mercedes complained, already completely prepared to wallow.

'Not necessarily.' Blaine disagreed. 'And besides that, they haven't announced the Tony or Drama Desk nominations yet, and I _seem to recall_ hearing some very good things about a certain diva.'

Mercedes dropped her head to Blaine's chest again. 'Don't jinx it.'

Blaine smiled to himself as he continued to rub her shoulder. 'Wouldn't dream of it.'

Mercedes sighed into his chest and nodded. 'Tell Kurt that he can do my dress.' She said in a resigned voice. 'You know he'd just hassle me until I said yes anyway.'

Blaine let the truth of those words speak for themselves as he pressed play on the DVD again, the corner of his mouth curling upwards as the pair watched in silence until the credits started to roll.

'I was thinking that you should ask Sam to go to Finn's wedding with you.' Blaine blurted out after the movie was over.

Mercedes pushed herself up from where she'd curled into his chest and shot him a look of pure exasperation. 'And _I_ told you that we aren't dating.'

'I know!' Blaine qualified quickly, 'I didn't mean like that. It's just that it has to have been a while since he's seen everyone, and it might be nice for him. Besides it would be nice for you to have someone to go with, even if it's a friend-date not a date-date.'

Blaine waited as Mercedes thought about it and kicked himself for saying 'nice' so many times. He wasn't usually one to play cupid - that was more Kurt's thing - but Blaine knew what he'd felt between Sam and Mercedes at the carnival. Even if they were both trying their hardest to deny it there was something _there, _and darn it if Blaine wasn't going to make them realise it.

'I guess I could ask him.' Mercedes said slowly, chewing the thought over in her mind. 'I don't know if he'd go for it though, I think Sam and Finn might have had some issues back in high school.'

_I think they __**definitely **__had some issues, _Mercedes corrected in her mind, Blaine didn't know about the Quinn/Finn/Sam mess and Mercedes wasn't going to tell him, but even if there was a chance that Sam might want to go to Finn's wedding, there was also a very real possibility that he still held a grudge against Finn.

It was a long time ago for Finn and Quinn, but Sam had only just found out, and it might be all too fresh for him. Then again, it might be exactly the kind of closure Sam needed.

'I'll ask him.' Mercedes said again, and Blaine gave a satisfied nod.

Three days later, Mercedes found herself standing in the stark white hallways of the hospital where Sam worked feeling nauseous. She'd told herself that asking him would be less weird face to face, but every time it had come down to it she'd ended up backing out at the last minute. Sam would probably find it weird if she asked, and then there'd be all sorts of awkwardness between them if he said 'no'...

Mercedes had been studiously burying her head in the sand since Blaine had made the suggestion, and so far it had been working pretty well for her, but then her agent had called and begged her to fill in at the last minute for another singer who had gotten sick. Her agent, Maxine, had sworn that the gig was only small, and that Mercedes could even do some of her own material if she wanted to, 'It's just forty minutes.' Maxine had told her down the phone, in that direct, no-nonsense way she had of speaking. 'For some sick kids.' The woman had pressed, playing on Mercedes' naturally charitable and maternal instincts. 'Please say you'll do it, I'm in a bind here.'

Mercedes had sighed and thought longingly of the day of rest and relaxation she'd had planned, but had reluctantly agreed. If there was one thing she'd learned since moving to New York, it was that it was always a good idea to keep your agent on your good side. 'Alright, Maxine.' She'd agreed reluctantly so that her agent would know that she was getting a favour, 'give me the address and the details.'

It wasn't until after she'd agreed to do it that Mercedes had discovered that the gig was in the children's ward of the same hospital Sam worked at. Mercedes had had one eye open for the blond doctor ever since she'd arrived.

'Miss Jones?' The doctor that greeted her was tall and handsome, with rich, caramel-coloured skin and deep grey eyes. He looked like he was of dual heritage, and Mercedes found herself thinking that whatever nationalities it was that had combined to make him ought to get a medal. The man was gorgeous.

'I'm Dr. McGowan.' The man introduced himself, pulling a hand out of the pocket of his white lab coat and holding it out to her. 'But you can call me James.'

He dimpled a smile at Mercedes and his white teeth contrasted perfectly with the dark stubble that covered his chin.

'If you follow me we'll head on over to the children's ward.' James explained as he ushered Mercedes down the hallway. 'Do you want me to take that for you?' he pointed to the guitar case in Mercedes' hands and she handed it over gratefully.

'Thanks.'

'No problem.' James gave her a friendly wink over his shoulder as they headed off to the ward. 'The kids are really excited to see you. They've been driving me crazy asking after you all day.' He shot another warm smile at her and Mercedes found herself smiling back.

'You're a paediatrician?' Mercedes asked as James led her down the maze of hallways.

'Yeah.' James nodded, a soft smile playing on his lips, 'It's tough sometimes, but I honestly couldn't see myself anywhere else.'

'Kids are certainly never boring.' Mercedes agreed, and James looked back at her.

'You don't have to tell me twice. You have kids?'

'Oh, no.' Mercedes shook her head, 'I teach music part-time,' she told him, 'a lot of my students are children.'

'Nice.' James raised a hand for a high-five and Mercedes laughed as she slapped his hand with hers. The doctor was so laid back that she was completely able to see how he'd thrive working with children.

'So, just to give you a heads up.' James said as they neared his ward, 'some of the kids are pretty sick, but don't let the tubes and monitors get to you. It can be jarring, but underneath it all they're just normal kids in unfortunate circumstances. Keep that in mind and you'll do fine.' The doctor gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder before they both squirted the anti-bacterial liquid by the entrance on their hands. After a brief nod to say she was done, James pushed open the door to the children's ward with his back.

'Doctor James!'

Almost immediately, James was greeted by a little girl pushing a miniature IV stand, she looked to be no older than about six or seven and tubes connecting to the bags on the IV stand ran under the little girl's nose and disappeared inside the collar of her pink Disney pajamas.

'Who's that?' the girl asked James shyly, her small, bald head tilted to one side as she regarded Mercedes.

'This is Miss Jones.' James introduced, looking softly up at Mercedes. 'She's going to sing for you guys today.'

Mercedes smiled at the little girl and crouched down slightly. 'You can call me Mercedes.' She said holding out her hand for the girl to shake. 'What's your name?'

'Alicia.' The girl mumbled bashfully past the small fist she'd raised to her mouth.

'That's a beautiful name.' Mercedes smiled again and was rewarded when she received a tentative one in return. 'A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.' She said sincerely, and watched as Alicia blushed.

'I'm looking forward to singing for you guys later.' Mercedes told Alicia with a warm smile. 'Make sure you come and say hi afterwards, ok?'

Alicia nodded before trundling off again and Mercedes stood to look at James.

'Let's get this show on the road!'

Sam walked into the break room to the sound of laughter and was confronted with the unlikely sight of Mercedes sitting at a table looking very familiar as she drank coffee with James.

'Sam!' his best friend had the nerve to stand and slap Sam happily on the back. 'Look who our replacement performer turned out to be! Small world, huh?' James turned back to the table and shared a friendly smile with Mercedes that for some reason had Sam thinking some very unfriendly thoughts about his best friend.

'Mercedes was awesome, and the kids _loved_ her.' James said, more effusive than Sam had seen him in months.

'I'm sure they did.' Sam tried to sound bright but it just came out sounding forced, 'Good to see you, Mercedes.'

'You too, Sam.' Mercedes stood up and came around the table. 'I actually stuck around because I wanted to ask you something.'

Some of the tension left Sam's body as he looked down at the short, dark-haired woman but his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to puzzle out what she could mean.

'Of course. Is everything ok?'

'Everything's fine!' Mercedes assured him quickly. 'It's just…' she looked cautiously back at James and the few other doctors who were lounging about the break room. She bit her lip as she turned back to Sam. 'Can we talk somewhere more private?'

Sam nodded and guided her to a quiet stretch of hallway, his brain racing with as he tried to figure out what she might want to talk to him about.

'What's up, Cede?' Sam asked gently once they'd stopped, his eyes focusing in on the nervous way Mercedes was playing with her hands. Without thinking, Sam reached out and covered one of the woman's small hands with his own. He curled his long fingers easily around hers as he waited for her to calm down.

Mercedes turned surprised lamp-like eyes on Sam when she felt his hand around hers and blinked heavily for a couple of seconds before she spoke.

'Ok, before I ask you, I want you to know that you _can _say 'no' if you want to.' She began. 'This isn't one of those loaded questions where you have to say yes or I'll never talk to you again, ok?'

Sam tried not to smile at Mercedes' earnest babbling and nodded. 'Understood. Now, hit me with it.'

Mercedes stared at the pocket of Sam's lab coat for a moment and then let out a deep breath.

'Would you like to go to Finn's wedding with me?'

It took Sam a couple of seconds to comprehend what she'd said, and then a couple more to try and determine an answer from the sea of thoughts that flooded his brain.

Mercedes seemed to sense this, because she squeezed his hand briefly and adjusted her question. 'You don't have to answer right away. Take some time to think about it, if you want. I can't imagine that you're Finn's biggest fan at the moment.'

Sam squinted slightly as the cogs started spinning in his head. He was surprised to find that he didn't have as many hard feelings towards Finn as he would have expected. Then again, he didn't have the kinds of feelings for Quinn that he'd imagined he did either. Once he'd realized that he wasn't actually in love with the former cheerleader it was a lot easier to accept that she and Finn had cheated.

'Finn Hudson's wedding.' Sam said almost to himself as he mulled the thought over in his head.

'Blaine suggested I ask you.' Mercedes informed him nervously, 'he thought you might like the opportunity to see the rest of New Directions again.'

Sam sighed and propped himself up against the wall, his hand still linked with Mercedes' and stretching out in front of him. For reasons he wasn't prepared to confront he had felt a pang of disappointment when she had told him that it wasn't her idea to ask him to be her date. She hadn't even said the word 'date' Sam realized and pretended that he didn't feel the sinking feeling in his stomach.

'Will the others all be there?'

Mercedes nodded, and a few strands of hair came loose from the messy bun she'd put it in.

'As far as I know.' She confirmed, 'everyone except Rachel, because that would just be _way _too awkward.'

'Right.' Sam agreed, shoving his free hand in his coat pocket so he wouldn't give in to the temptation to brush the hair away from her face. Part of him was kicking himself for getting so tactile with her at the carnival. Even though it had supposedly just been an act, Sam had been finding himself dwelling on what it would be like to touch her like that again ever since. He tried to ignore those thoughts, but the problem was that he was so used to thinking about Mercedes every day that he didn't really know how to stop.

Sam had spent eleven _years _thinking about the cocoa-skinned woman in front of him. He'd wondered what she was doing, if she was happy, what she might look like. Now she was back in his life again - and apparently _not _the interfering heartbreaker he'd at first thought –Sam found that he was _still_ thinking a lot of those things, only he wasn't doing it quite so angrily these days.

'Can I ask you a question?' Sam blurted, still half lost in his thoughts. He went on when Mercedes gave him a surprised nod of encouragement.

'Do _you _want to go to this wedding with me? I mean, as your date?'

Sam studied Mercedes' face as her mouth opened without any words coming out. After a couple of seconds she swallowed and said, 'I think it would be good for you to get the closure…'

'That's not what I asked, Mercedes.' The sternness of Sam's voice stopped the curvy woman before she could get into the swing of talking around the question again, and Sam's green eyes had hers caught as he waited expectantly for an answer.

'Do you…' Sam asked again, standing up straighter against the wall.

'Want to…' he took a step closer to Mercedes, his eyes intent on her face.

'Go to this wedding…'

Mercedes swallowed hard as Sam stepped into her personal space and dropped his voice to speak low in her ear.

'With me?' He finished quietly watching Mercedes worry at her bottom lip as she tried to come up with an answer to what _should_ have been a simple question. She was finding it hard to think with Sam this close to her. She wasn't sure why, maybe it was his cologne, or the lingering high from her performance earlier. Whatever it was, _something_ was muddying her brain and making it hard to think.

'I…'

'It's a simple question, Cedes.'

'I…' Mercedes blinked and gathered her wits about her, taking a step back from Sam's befuddling presence. 'Yes.' She nodded authoritatively. 'If you're going to be ok with Finn and Quinn being there, then yes, I would like you to come with me.'

Sam looked at the woman in front of him for a fraction longer, but it was enough time for Mercedes to shift uncomfortably under his gaze. _Had she said the wrong thing?_

'Then I'd be honoured to go with you. I'll put in for the time off.'

'Wait… _really?_'

Sam nodded, the grin stretching across his face as Mercedes wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a hug.

'That's… no, that's going to be so… Oh my god, everyone is going to be so excited! Let me text Tina.'

Sam folded his arms across his chest and regarded the petite woman with amusement as she immediately pulled out her phone to make good on her word. Halfway through typing though she stopped and slowly lowered the handset.

'You know what… On second thought, why don't we make it a surprise?' Mercedes flashed him a conspiratorial smile and Sam couldn't help but smile back.

'Fine, let's make it a surprise.' He agreed, leaning in to look at the screen on her phone. 'But we should tell Finn. I don't know if anyone else will even care that I'm there, but I don't want any nasty surprises where Finn is concerned.'

Mercedes nodded and shot off a text to their former glee club captain.

'They _will _be excited.' Mercedes assured Sam, catching the faint scent of his soap rising off his skin. 'Trust me.'

The next few weeks passed relatively quickly. Sam and Mercedes stayed in almost constant contact throughout that time, and when Sam wasn't working he could usually be found hanging out with Mercedes and Blaine. The Broadway actor carefully avoided mentioning the burgeoning closeness between his best friend and the handsome doctor, but he was thinking it. _Boy, was he thinking it_. Still, throughout it all Blaine didn't say anything.

He didn't say anything when he stopped by Mercedes' place about a week and a half after the wedding invitation, and found Sam and Mercedes companionably watching a movie with Sam's hands resting on Mercedes' legs in his lap. He didn't say anything when, three weeks after the wedding invitation, they were finishing each others' sentences and sharing secret glances with each other that seemed to communicate entire thoughts with one facial expression. He didn't say anything _at all _after his initial conversation with Mercedes, but about a week before the wedding he cracked and mentioned his suspicions when Kurt phoned up to check last minute measurements.

'She's bringing a date!' Blaine had explained breathlessly to his boyfriend and Kurt had laughed down the line at Blaine's excitement and reminded him that he already knew that.

'Ok, Smartass.' Blaine had huffed, the smile fighting its way onto his face. 'But before they were going as _friends, _and _now _I'm pretty sure it's going to be _more_ than that.'

'What?' Kurt picked up his needle and began to hand-stitch the last few touches to Mercedes' dress. She was going to look _stunning, _Kurt was certain of it(without overshadowing the bride, of course.)

'She never mentioned it to me.'

'I know, but that's because she wants everyone to meet him at once, I think.' Blaine covered easily. It had been hard, but Sam and Mercedes had both insisted that Kurt would be one of those most excited to see Sam again, and Blaine hadn't wanted to ruin the surprise.

'I should get dibs on seeing him.' Kurt said through a mouthful of pins. 'Can she not show him to me on Skype or something?'

'No.' Blaine was adamant in his response, 'she wants it to be a surprise.' Blaine reiterated, 'and they're not _actually _dating. They're just filling every space they share with so much sexual tension I can barely breathe.'

'You seem remarkably chipper about that.' Kurt noted as he tied off some thread. 'I would have thought you'd hate being the third wheel. Although, that doesn't _sound _like Mercy.'

'Oh, no,' Blaine corrected, 'They aren't making me into a third wheel. _I _am. And that's only because I spend most of the time I'm with them willing them to _just make out already_.' He sighed. 'But as far as they're concerned, we're just three friends hanging out together. I think I'm the only one who realizes that it's actually one friend and a _couple._'

Kurt laughed as he clamped the phone between his shoulder and his chin and held the dress up for inspection. 'And you have _me_.' He pointed out. 'Imagine how Merce must have felt on all those non-dates with _us_.'

'Oh God.' Blaine winced in empathy with the Mercedes he'd first met all those years ago. 'I don't know how she could stand it.'

'Mercedes Jones is better than you.' Kurt stated simply.

'Not at _everything_.' Blaine's voice dropped to a suggestive growl down the phone and the faltering of Kurt's breath was audible even over their touchy international connection.

'Well… we'll… um, we'll have to ask her date about that, won't we?' Kurt managed to stammer out. Then under his breath Blaine heard him whisper, 'One more week. Just one more week… Damn you, Blaine Anderson, now these next seven days are going to be even _more _torturous than they were before.'

'Promise I'll make it up to you.'

'You _better_.'

Just before they were about to hang up the phone at the end of their conversation Kurt said, 'I'm going to make Mercedes' non-date/date a pocket square out of the left over material from her dress. 'I want to be able to spot this guy from a distance.'

Blaine had had to clamp his teeth down on his lower lip to stop the laugh that threatened to spill out of his mouth at Kurt's unintentionally erroneous ploy.

'Sure thing, Kurt.' Was all the actor could manage whilst not sounding like he was going to bust a gut. 'That sounds nice.'

Two days before they were due to leave for the wedding Mercedes slipped it into casual conversation that she and Sam would both be staying at her parents house for the duration of the wedding, instead of at the hotel with Blaine and Kurt.

Blaine raised a thick eyebrow and concentrated on drying the dishes Mercedes was handing him without saying anything. It was just the two of them, Sam was working the dayshift at the hospital, and they were standing up at Mercedes' sink washing up after the meal they'd shared and cooked together.

'Ok, you're going to need to stop doing that.' Mercedes warned, laughing as she bumped her best friend with her hip.

'Doing what? Drying dishes?'

'_No. _Conspicuously not saying anything when I talk about Sam, or even when I'm _with _Sam. I've seen you, Blaine. You ain't slick.'

Blaine sighed and slid the plate he was drying into the cupboard with the others before he turned to face Mercedes' questioning eyes.

'Ok, it's just… he's _staying_ with you? Don't you think that's kind of a big deal?' A small wrinkle formed between Mercedes' eyebrows as she frowned at him.

'No… He's a friend. _You've_ stayed with me at my parents place before.'

'I'm _gay._' Blaine reiterated and Mercedes laughed at his serious expression.

'You know, I'm really glad you said something, because I just haven't been sure how to broach the subject these past _twelve_ _years_.'

Blaine rolled his eyes at her and accepted the salad bowl.

'Oh goodie!' he mocked her tone. 'Because I've been wondering how to tell you this whole time!' His voice returned to normal as he fixed Mercedes with an unappreciative look. 'Come _on_, Mercedes. When I stay with you, your parents _know _that I'm not your boyfriend or a potential suitor. Same when Quinn stayed, but _Sam?_'

Blaine went to put the bowl away with a knowing look etched all over his face.

'Sam is a straight guy, who is your _date _to this wedding and if _I _were them I would think…'

'My parents have met Sam before.' Mercedes dismissed, getting soapsuds over the floor when she waved away the concerns with her wet hand. 'Quinn brought him over for dinner. He's already had the 'you hurt my daughter I'll kill you and make it look like an accident' talk from my dad.' Mercedes dropped her hand back into the sink with a small splash. 'Sam knows what he's getting into, and my parents _know _that he isn't with me that way, anyway. They asked and I told them. They know he's just a friend.'

_They'll know until they see the way you two look at each other, _Blaine thought but he nodded as he slung the drying cloth over one of the drawer handles near the sink.

'Well, then, I guess that's fine.'

'Yup.' Mercedes grinned at him and went to sit down, the very picture of denial. 'Besides, my parents are leaving for some conference after the first night anyway.'

Blaine squeezed his eyes shut and bit at the inside of his lip to keep himself from saying anything else at this new revelation.

Sam, Mercedes and Blaine flew out to Ohio together the day before the wedding. At the airport, Sam rented a car to drive them the rest of the way to Lima, and tried to tell himself that it was the more the merrier when Blaine joined them. The Broadway actor had considered renting a car, but a quick phone call to Kurt, who was already in town, stopped him. 'He's already rented one.' Blaine told them once he'd gotten off the phone, and Sam had done his best to smile politely and not think about how much fun he and Mercedes would have had on the journey alone.

Sam and Mercedes dropped Blaine off at the same hotel where the wedding was being held in the early afternoon, and from there the two of them drove the rest of the way to Mercedes' parents house. The traveling had taken it out of them both and most of the drive was conducted in an easy silence. They were so tired by the time they neared Lima, that when Mercedes tried to insist on driving the last stretch to her parents house she didn't even put up much of a fight when Sam told her no. The blond had seen how tired Mercedes looked, and he truthfully didn't mind driving. He even remembered the way to the house once Mercedes had informed him that her parents hadn't moved since high school. He'd had driven through Lima so many times as a kid that he practically made the trip on autopilot.

'Muzzy, Baby!'

Mercedes' mom came rushing out of the house almost as soon as Sam had brought the rental car to a stop outside the medium sized detached house Mercedes had grown up in. After a brief apologetic glance at Sam, Mercedes unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out into her mother's embrace.

'You look thin.' Her mother admonished the instant they'd pulled apart, her hands on Mercedes upper arms. 'You _feel_ thin. Can you not afford to eat properly up there, Baby? Do you want your father and I to send you some money?'

Ronnie Jones' pretty face wrinkled in concern as she studied her daughter for signs of distress or injury. The two women could, and had, often be confused for sisters over the years. In fact, Ronnie had aged so remarkably well that she barely looked thirty, let alone her real age of fifty-eight.

'I'm _fine, _Mom.' Mercedes assured her mother, even though she knew that she'd be fed to bursting the entire time her mother was around to make up for what was perceived as her 'malnutrition'.

As predicted, Ronnie looked completely unconvinced, but she let go of Mercedes when Sam came around the other side of the car looking uncertain.

'Samuel Evans!' Ronnie held her arms out expectantly to the tall man. Sam laughed as he bent down to hug her.

'It has been way too long, young man!' Ronnie complained, rocking the blond from side to side. 'I got the impression you'd fallen off the planet.'

Sam blushed as he pulled out of Mrs. Jones' embrace, his mind flying instantly to all the bad things he'd said about Mercedes and his reasons for staying away from Lima.

Before he'd left for Kentucky Sam had become a regular visitor to the Jones house. Quinn had continued to spend a lot of her time there even after she'd moved out, and Sam had been with her while they were dating. Sam had even been a few times to do homework and hang out when Quinn was busy. Of course, that had all changed when he'd moved to away, but it had been his own misconceptions that had stopped him from staying in contact with the warm family.

'I'm real sorry about that, Ma'am.' Sam admitted, his head hanging low in shame. It sprang up again a minute later when he felt the marked _thwack _of Mrs. Jones' hand across his arm.

'It may have been over ten years, Evans, but I _know _you didn't forget I told you to call me Ronnie or Mrs J like the rest of you kids. Speaking of,' Ronnie turned her attention to her daughter as she spoke the next part, 'Noah Puckerman stopped by for dinner last night. Still got a heck of an appetite, but he's cute with hair, and he's such a nice boy. You should call him, Muzz.'

Mercedes' blushed, and Sam felt an unfamiliar clenching in his stomach as he watched her. He hadn't known Puck was so close with the Jones' that he would drop by to hang out with her family when Mercedes' wasn't there. Even though Sam had been friends with the guy in high school, he still didn't like the idea of Puck dating Mercedes. It seemed wrong, somehow, and Sam made a mental note to keep an eye on the two of them at the wedding. Just in case. Like a friend would… for another friend.

Ronnie watched the emotions dance across Sam's face out of the corner of her eye as she spoke to her daughter. Truthfully, she didn't really want Mercedes to date Noah. The pair of them lived on opposite sides of the country, and actually, Puck had been happily telling them all about his girlfriend over dinner the night before. Ronnie had only mentioned it because she was trying to figure something out, and Sam's face darkened at the thought of Mercedes dating Noah she was pretty sure she had her answer.

'Muzzy, honey, why don't you go in and say hi to your father?' Ronnie suggested, 'and then tell him that I said to get his butt out her and help bring the bags in.' She gave her daughter a look that brooked no argument. 'I know you, you probably brought half your apartment with you and I'm not about to make Sam do it on his own, he's a guest!'

'Mom, I can bring in my own…'

Ronnie shot her another stern look and Mercedes sighed, sensing that resistance was futile as she went to go find her father.

Sam's eyes automatically trailed Mercedes to the door, and when he turned his attention back to Ronnie, the doctor was startled to find that the diminutive woman was watching at him with one hand perched on her generous hip.

Ronnie Jones was a pretty woman, and her dark curly hair fell across her face in a way that made her look soft and welcoming. She was the kind of mother you could imagine baking cookies with, or chatting with over a pot roast (both of which Sam had done in the past). But every now and again, Ronnie Jones would get a look in her eye that Sam was pretty sure she had in common with some of the the top interrogators in the world, and once she fixed you with it, you knew it was only a matter of time before you were spilling all your secrets.

That was how Ronnie was looking at him now.

'I… I'm just going to start getting those bags out the car.' Sam stammered, scrambling to find an excuse to avoid that look.

'I'll help you.' Ronnie followed Sam to the back of the car and stood there studying him while he unlocked it. He fumbled with the key for what felt like an eternity before he finally got the thing open and started yanking bags out of the trunk.

'Um… Ma'a… Mrs. J? Why are you looking at me like that?' Sam asked, intending to get straight to the point.

'Because of the way I see you looking at my daughter.' Ronnie told him pointedly and Sam fumbled with a handle and lost his grip on one of the suitcases. It fell back into the trunk with a heavy thud as Sam turned to face Mrs. Jones.

'I don't… I'm not sure what you mean?'

Mrs. Jones made a disbelieving sound and raised a single eyebrow in an expression eerily identical to one he'd seen Mercedes make several times.

'I wasn't born yesterday, Sam.' Ronnie informed the young man in front of her carefully, 'and you've been looking at my daughter like she was made of stardust since you first started coming around here at sixteen. My question is, are you actually going to do something about it this time?'

Sam's head physically jerked backwards as he reeled from Mrs. Jones' words. He'd always thought that Mercedes was pretty great - wonderful, even – and there was no denying that she'd been a very attractive girl who had grown into a _gorgeous_ woman - hadn't he said the same thing to James after he'd seen her again? - But that didn't change the fact that Mercedes was his _friend, _and they had never been anything more than that.

_Except for that time at the carnival, _a voice in the back of Sam's head reminded him. _That time you can't stop thinking about? When you got to hold her hand, and pull her close and nuzzle into her warmth just like you wanted to when you were a teenager…_

Whoa.

Sam hadn't thought about _that _in a long time… he swallowed, certain that Mrs. Jones had heard his thoughts, and told himself that he wasn't going to think about it _now_ either. The whole thing was a tangled knot of emotions that he would have to take out and examine some time when Mercedes' mother wasn't around to read his face like a book.

Luckily, Sam was saved from having to delve any further into his own feelings when Mercedes emerged from the house with her father in tow and approached them.

The barrel-chested man welcomed Sam a little bit more warily than his wife had, and Sam's mind instantly recalled Mr. Jones' thinly veiled threats towards him when he'd been dating Quinn. Sam hoped the older man didn't remember as he gulped and shook the older gentleman's hand. Once he'd let go, Sam wiped his suddenly sweaty hands on his jeans and grabbed a few of the suitcases he'd unloaded from the trunk.

'Baby girl, I thought you were only staying for the weekend?' Mr. Jones grumbled as he hoisted some of Mercedes' bags in his hands, his face screwing up when he became aware of how heavy they were.

'We are.' Mercedes assured her father with a smile that had no doubt got her out of trouble a lot growing up. 'I just wanted to have options.' She picked up the last remaining bags, completely ignoring Sam's protests to leave them, and set off into the house.

The doctor found himself sharing an identical long-suffering look with Mercedes' father before they both sighed and followed the curvy woman into the house.

Sam didn't get to be alone with his thoughts until later that night, when Mrs. Jones noticed he and Mercedes slumping with fatigue from the journey and instructed them to go upstairs and rest until dinner. Mercedes had shown Sam to the guest room and helped him get settled before she'd disappeared across the hall to her own bedroom, determined to get in some sleep so she wouldn't look like 'a haggard mess' in the wedding photos the next day.

Finally alone, Sam sat down on the plush guest bed and fell backwards, his hands resting on his chest as he stared up at the ceiling and let his thoughts dwell on Mercedes_._ Sam went over what Mrs. Jones had said to him by the car, and the memories that had begun to surface as a result, and sighed as he ran a hand through his hair and stared up at the guest bedroom's white dappled ceiling.

The truth was that he _had _had a crush on Mercedes back in high school - one that he apparently hadn't been able to hide from her mother – but itwas a _crush_ and Sam had been with Quinn at the time and had had no intention of acting on it. He had no problems owning the fact that Mercedes had been an awesome friend that he'd had a little, tiny crush on when he was in high school, but all that was over now. _Wasn't it?_

Sam mulled that thought over for a while before he came to the conclusion that, actually, no. It wasn't.

Sam realized that he _couldn't_ have gotten over it because, if he were being honest, he'd been holding his crush as evidence against Mercedes ever since. It had made everything feel ten times worse when he'd first heard that Mercedes told Quinn to break up with him. It had felt like a betrayal, and Sam had only recently come to consider that it might have been _that _that had bothered him all these years, rather than the loss of his relationship with Quinn. As far as Sam knew, Mercedes had never looked at him as anything more than a friend and yet he'd still felt her perceived disloyalty down to his soul. It had broken his heart.

Broken his heart?

Sam sat up on the bed as those words repeated over and over in his head. The more he thought about it, the more sense it made:

He had been nursing a broken heart for the past _eleven __**years**_… and it hadn't been for Quinn like he'd always assumed it was. It was for _Mercedes._

Sam was in love with Mercedes Jones.

How had he _missed _that?

Sam thought about it, dropping his arm over his face as he closed his eyes to remember. When he'd first seen Mercedes again, Sam had been preoccupied with his own resentments, yet even so he remembered clearly the way his heart had beat faster in his chest the instant he'd seen Mercedes hurt. Sam had thought it was adrenalin or anger at the time, but now it seemed blindingly obvious that it was none of those things. What he'd felt then was _concern._

Sam groaned as remembered words came floating back to him, and he realized that even Maria had seen it. What had she said?

_'You'll be glad to know she's fine. You've been so tense since she came in!_'

Sam let out a heavy sigh and covered his eyes with his hands. Maria had noticed after being around him for ten minutes. No wonder James kept muttering about a 'thin line' and shooting him meaningful looks whenever Sam mentioned Mercedes.

_God_, he was an idiot.

Even though he was still trying to process, Sam felt sleep tugging at the edges of his consciousness, and what with the travel and the shift he'd pulled the day before, Sam felt himself drifting off into dreamless sleep. It wasn't until Mercedes' gentle calling of his name woke him up that Sam realized he'd succumbed to the fatigue he'd been fighting all day.

'You were out like a light.' Mercedes smiled down at him, her eyes glittering like jewels as she spoke.

Sam licked his lips and cleared his suddenly dry throat, then licked his lips again as he tried to think of something to say.

'Oh.'

'Oh?' Mercedes repeated with amusement in her voice and Sam had to resist the urge to drop his head back against the mattress and smack it repeatedly with whatever was close at hand. The lamp looked promising.

'Is it, um, is it time for dinner?' Sam asked as he sat up. He ran a self-conscious hand through his hair to fix any lingering bedhead, but apparently he only succeeded in making it worse. Mercedes giggled and nudged his hands out of the way so she could fix it for him and her hands felt so _good _in his hair that Sam closed his eyes involuntarily and allowed himself a moment to savour it. Just for a moment though, because he didn't want to freak Mercedes out or give away his feelings just yet.

'All done.' Mercedes said way too soon, and then her hands weren't in Sam's hair anymore and he was opening his eyes, trying not to feel disappointed.

'Oh.'

'_Oh._' Mercedes leaned in and briefly touched her forehead to his before she leaned back again and shook away the hair that had fallen in her face. 'You keep saying that. What's with you today?'

'Nothing.' Sam said quickly, trying to concentrate on everything but how good it had felt to have her skin pressed against his, and she'd smelled amazing. 'I just… I mean… I was… It's… Are you hungry? I'm hungry.'

'You're _always _hungry!' Mercedes pointed out with a laugh as she got up off the bed. 'Some things are eternal.' She shot him a heart-melting smile and went to lean on the doorframe.

'I only came up to tell you that dinner's ready. Mom made ribs and mac 'n' cheese. She said she hopes it's still your favourite.'

Sam stood up so fast he nearly gave Mercedes whiplash and was halfway out the door before she even had a chance to turn around. 'Your mom made soul food? I _love _her.'

'I can… see that.' Mercedes started to say, but the call of food was apparently too strong and Sam was already halfway down the stairs before she could finish her sentence.

The singer shook her head as she followed after Sam at a more dignified pace, thinking that the boy had always been a little gaga for her mother's cooking, but it seemed that absence really had made the heart grow fonder. Sam had practically sprinted to the dining room, although Mercedes was surprised to find that he was still standing when she entered after him.

Ever the gentleman, Sam carefully pulled out Mercedes' chair for her and got her seated before he sat down in his own chair with a gracious smile at Mercedes' mom. Ronnie looked a little surprised to note his transformation from dignified twenty-something to expectant puppy but she smiled indulgently as she watched them both.

'Mercedes told me you made ribs and mac 'n' cheese, Mrs. J.' Sam said by way of explanation, and the older woman laughed.

'I guess it's still your favourite then?'

'Of course! Your cookin' is still the best food I've ever had the pleasure of tastin'.' Sam affirmed with a marveled shake of his head. Across the table Mr. Jones responded with a resounding 'Amen!'.

'Well, why don't we say grace so we can dig in before it all gets cold?' Mrs. Jones suggested happily, and everyone dutifully clasped their hands over their plates and bowed their heads.

'Dear Lord,' Toby Jones began, 'Bless Finn Hudson for getting married and bringing our baby back to Lima. Bless my wife for laying on this delicious lookin' spread, and bless Sam Evans for getting the soul food I've been requestin' for _months _on the table. You have mercy on whoever tries to come between me and those gorgeous smellin' honey-glazed ribs. Amen.'

When he opened his eyes again, Mr. Jones found his wife shooting him an incredulous look while his daughter and her "friend" tried to contain their laughter.

'Ribs, Sam?' Ronnie asked, deliberately offering the plate to Sam before her husband.

'Uh…' a rogue giggle escaped Sam's lips but he clamped down on it and shook his head. 'Thanks, Mrs. J, but I'm going to have to insist that Mr. Jones has the first pick.'

Toby Jones looked pleased as his wife begrudgingly swung the plate over to where her husband was sitting. 'I wouldn't want to risk the wrath of God.' Sam finished and Mercedes lost her battle with her laughter. Her hands shielded her face as she attempted to stifle her giggles in her plate setting.

Toby conceded the point to Sam with a congratulatory nod of his head, but he didn't miss the way Sam's eyes lingered on his daughter's bent head, and if he weren't mistaken, the boy looked more pleased with himself for making Mercedes laugh than he did with his own joke.

Years of dentistry had perfected Mr. Jones' poker face, so he was able to observe Sam across the table for the rest of the dinner without giving away any of his own thoughts. Sam clearly felt some kind of way about Mercedes, but it was when Toby turned his attention to his daughter's reactions to the blond doctor that he grew concerned.

'They like each other, Ronnie!' He said to his wife after dinner was over, his voice holding a note of panic at the thought of his daughter dating. He knew that she was twenty-eight years old, and she'd probably been dating for quite a while now, but Muzzy would always be his little baby, and it made him feel weird to think about her seeing anyone.

'Of course they do.' Ronnie answered as if Toby had just told her that the sky was blue. 'They've liked each other since high school.'

'Since high school!' Toby peered through the doorway into the dining table where Sam and Mercedes were laughing with each other as they waited for dessert and furrowed his brow.

'You know, maybe we should rethink this Law conference, Ron. I'm not sure how I feel about leaving those two alone in the house together for such a long time.'

He wrung his hands together nervously and Ronnie laughed as she handed him a pie plate. Her husband looked like a really worried bear, and although she thought it was adorable, Ronnie also knew she had to clamp it down before he got himself overworked.

'They're _adults, _Toby.' She reminded the tall man gently with a pat to his arm. 'And it's two and a half days. I think they'll be ok.'

'Well, I'm not sure I'm ok with them being "_ok_" under this roof!' Toby stated somewhat ridiculously. 'I mean, you've seen the way he looks at her. I don't trust him.'

Ronnie picked up the other cake plate and raised both eyebrows at her husband as if to say '_Calm the heck down.'_

'It's Sam Evans.' Ronnie told him sternly. 'The boy you used to regularly say was the kind of guy you'd be happy to walk either of your daughters down the aisle for. Remember that?'

Toby grumbled something incoherent that _could _have been an affirmation.

'Well, then. I think, if anything, we should be _encouraging _them. It's been so _long _and they're both still dancing around their attraction for one another the same as they always did.'

'_He was with Quinn_.' Toby pointed out, managing to recapture some of the indignation that he'd lost earlier.

'Oh! You and I both know that he was never right for Quinn.' Ronnie asserted and deep down Toby was forced to agree. 'Quinn would never have been happy with him. She _wasn't_ happy. That's why she cheated.'

'Q-Bear _cheated?_'

Ronnie raised her eyes heavenward and asked the Lord what she was going to do with her husband before letting out a long, wearied sigh.

'Can we talk about this later, please? I'm sure the kids are getting suspicious.'

'Fine.'

After dessert Mrs. Jones refused to let Sam or Mercedes help clear up after dinner despite their attempts to try.

'Y'all have had a long day.' She explained as she shooed them away. 'Why don't you go for a walk or something instead?'

Mercedes had reluctantly agreed and gone to put on some walking shoes and a jacket, but when Sam went to do the same Mrs. Jones pulled him back.

'You know, Toby and I are setting off early for Dallas early tomorrow, so we were thinking we'd give this one a miss.' Ronnie smiled encouragingly up at the blond. 'But you and Mercedes should go on without us. It's a nice night._'_

'Oh, no, Mrs. J. If y'all are too tired then we don't have to…'

'Nice and _romantic._' Ronnie added.

Sam's cheeks coloured as he finally caught the older woman's meaning.

'Oh… well, um. I don't… I'm not sure Cede… would… um.' He let out a gust of breath. 'I don't want to make things uncomfortable between us.'

'Sweetheart,' Ronnie stepped close enough so she could rest a comforting hand on Sam's arm, her eyes full of understanding. 'I know, but you have to understand… it's already uncomfortable as _hell _between you two right now. Everyone around you sees it!'

Sam looked taken aback. 'Well, I'm not so sure about…'

'Child, don't even _try_ to pretend that I'm the first person to say that to you.'

'Well, no...' Sam started, thinking of James… and then of Maria, Judy, Sasha and Blaine. 'No, you aren't, but…'

Sensing she'd made a breakthrough, Ronnie pressed on, 'I'm not saying that you should go debauch my daughter by moonlight.' She told the tall blond in her kitchen reassuringly and Sam's already red cheeks darkened at the thought of committing debauchery with Mercedes.

'I'm not expecting her to come back with a ring on her finger either.' Ronnie continued, 'It's _just_ a walk.' She smiled hopefully, '_but _if you wanted to make a _move_ on that walk...' she let the implications of her words hang in the air and watched as Sam turned the idea over.

'Ok, I'm ready!' Mercedes came bounding down the stairs in a pair of stylishly sturdy-looking boots and a purple light blazer-style jacket thrown over her dark blue jeans. There was also a scarf wrapped around her neck, which she held now as she frowned into the kitchen.

'Are you not coming?' She asked the two guilty looking adults, her eyes first taking in one, and then moving to the other.

'Your father and I are going to get an early night, Muzz.' Her mother said warmly, 'But I was just telling Sam here that it would be a shame to waste such a lovely evening.'

Mercedes' eyes turned expectantly to Sam and he found himself swallowing. Hard.

'We don't have to…'

He was interrupted by Ronnie's finger prodding his back where Mercedes couldn't see.

'You know what? Your mom's right, let's go.'

Sam grabbed his jacket off the hook by the door and ushered Mercedes out and away from Ronnie's jabbing fingers.

The two wandered around the streets of Lima in silence for a while before Mercedes spoke.

'It's so weird being back here again.'

They were walking past the dark storefront of The Lima Bean, no doubt both reliving times spent there in high school and Mercedes studied the place, her face wistful.

'It feels like I'm on the movie set of my life story.' Mercedes noted as they walked on. 'None of it seems real anymore.'

Sam nodded. He'd been having similar thoughts himself as they'd walked around the small town, but then again, he didn't have the same connection to Lima that Mercedes did.

'Don't you like being home?'

Mercedes turned to look at him, but her expression was thoughtful not upset.

'I do… It's just _weird_. This place used to be my whole world, and now it just seems so small.'

She smiled sadly and played with the ends of her scarf as their footsteps echoed along the empty streets. 'Is it like that for you? How does it feel when you go home?'

Sam shrugged and buried his hands deeper in his pockets; he'd put them there after the urge to take Mercedes' hand had overcome him about two minutes into their stroll.

'Sort of - I don't really have as firm an attachment to anyplace because of the moving and stuff, but yeah… I guess I do.'

They continued on a few feet before Sam spoke again.

'There's a peace I get in Tennessee that I don't get in New York, though. It'd probably drive me crazy if I went back for longer than a few days, but it's nice every once in a while to get away from the constant noise of NY. Kinda like this, I guess.'

Sam moved his elbows in a gesture that managed to encompass the whole town without actually taking his hands out of his pockets.

'I'll tell you one thing, though. The stars are brighter in Tennessee than anywhere else I've been. You can actually see shooting stars there.'

'You can see shooting stars in Lima.' Mercedes countered softly, but Sam just quirked an indulgent smile at her.

'You can _try._'

'Ok, _no_.' Mercedes grabbed for Sam's hand and dragged him across the street and down a slim alleyway that Sam hadn't even known existed nestled between a couple of stores.

'Um, I'm sorry?' Sam apologized cautiously as he tripped along behind the short woman. 'You don't have to kill me over it.'

Mercedes turned so he could see her rolling her eyes and pulled him up into the bank of trees that ran behind the buildings.

'Seriously.' Sam panted as Mercedes continued to wordlessly lead the way through the trees. 'I take it back. My life is worth more…'

'…than this.'

They had emerged from the trees and were standing at the edge of a field so large that Sam couldn't even see where it ended. It seemed to stretch on endlessly until it vanished off into the horizon and the sky above them was so clear and crisp that it seemed almost as if they could reach up and touch it.

'You were saying?' Mercedes asked smugly, taking in the surprise on Sam's face.

Sam closed his mouth with a snap and turned back to Mercedes.

'I was talking about shooting stars.' He contradicted. 'This is pretty, but it doesn't prove your point.'

Mercedes frowned at him, incredulous. '_Excuse_ _you_? Look at that sky! It's _High Definition._'

Sam chuckled. 'Ok, number one: You are a dork for saying that. Number two: That _still _doesn't prove anything.' He put a foot up on the fence that ran around the field and leaned into it as he watched Mercedes' face. She was fun to look at, and watching the emotions cross her features was an entertainment all by itself.

'You want_ proof_?' Mercedes griped, leaning against the fence beside Sam and swaying into him slightly. She didn't realise she was doing it. She didn't realise she was flirting with him either - but that didn't mean she wasn't doing it.

'I _demand _proof.' Sam answered, his voice low as he leaned closer to _her_ too. 'In fact, I _bet_ _you_ we won't see a single shooting star in the next…' he checked his watch. '…hour.'

Mercedes scoffed quietly. 'That's hardly scientific.'

'Them's the rules.'

They were so close now that Mercedes elbow was almost touching the elbow Sam had propped up on the fence, which meant that all he'd have to do was move his body slightly to the right and he'd be holding her in his arms. Sam had to resist doing just that when Mercedes looked up at him with a determined expression in her eyes and said, 'Fine.'

For the next ten minutes Sam kept his eyes on the sky while his mind (and if he were honest, his body too) was on the beautiful woman next to him.

Maybe Ronnie was right, Sam thought, and he _should _just let Mercedes know how he felt. He knew her well enough to know that she'd let him down gently if she didn't feel the same way, so maybe he should just come clean about it and let the chips fall where they may. Sam glanced over at Mercedes out the corner of his eye. She seemed fixated on the stars, but he supposed she was probably using the time to think about things the same as he was. She licked her lips absently and Sam's gaze flickered to Mercedes' lush mouth and the pink tongue that had darted out between her lips. It didn't take him long to start wondering what those lips would feel like pressed against his… Soft, probably… _Really _soft. Sam cleared his through and he forced his attention away from Mercedes mouth and on to the stars ahead.

Two minutes later, he'd just made the decision to rip off the Band-aid and tell Mercedes the truth when a streak of light shot across the sky above them.

Sam turned to find Mercedes' swinging her gaze triumphantly to him.

'Told you!' she giggled happily. 'A shooting star!' she did a little joyful shimmy of victory before she turned to face him. 'You should make a wish!'

Sam nodded slowly, and in the next instant his lips were pressed warm and delicious against hers. Mercedes' surprise quickly gave way to pleasure as she leaned into his heat, one hand finding its way to Sam's chest while the other wove through Sam's hair as he pressed her gently into the wooden railing. His hands wound around Mercedes' blissfully soft waist and he sucked her lower lip into his mouth and bit down gently. Sam's tongue swiped at the captured flesh languorously and then slowly released it, letting it drag through his teeth before he returned to press his mouth back against her tortured lips. Mercedes groaned, and moments later Sam felt her delicate tongue teasing between his.

When they broke apart, Sam chased her lips with a soft peck, his eyes glazed as he beamed down at her.

'Look at that,' He said a little breathlessly, as his thumb worked small, tingling circles into the flesh at her waist, 'My wish came true.'

Mercedes' heart was beating so fast it felt like it was vibrating in her chest and she unconsciously sucked her lips into her mouth again to lick the last lingering tastes of Sam from her lips. She hadn't been lying when she'd told Blaine numerous times that she and Sam were just good friends, not on purpose anyway, but she _had _carefully left out the part where she'd dreamed about kissing Sam, or fantasized about what it might be like to be the way they had been at the carnival all the time. Now she knew, Sam's kisses were nothing like she'd imagined, they were _better. Much _better. They were supernaturally good. _Out of this world_ good - and her body ached for more.

Sam grinned at the expression on Mercedes' face as he reached for her, hooking his long fingers through the belt loops in her jeans to pull her flush against him with a short yank. Sam's body rejoiced at having her close again, and he took a moment to savour it, lifting a finger to ghost along the gentle curve of Mercedes' lips before he moved in to kiss her again.

The shrill ringing of Mercedes' phone ripped through the moment and she pulled back with an apologetic glance at Sam as she fought her phone out of her pocket to take the call. Sam felt the cool air rush into all the places where Mercedes' body had touched his and found himself missing her with such intensity that it made his fists clench.

A few minutes later Mercedes got off the phone with a small smile and made her way back over to him, but when Sam tried to reach for her again she splayed her hand on his chest to stop him.

'I think that we should head home now.' Mercedes told him quietly as she stepped back to keep the distance between them and avoided his eyes.

Sam's head cocked to one side as he tried to figure out what the _hell _had just happened, and how the complete 180 Mercedes had just pulled had come about. One minute she'd been melting into him like sugar into caramel, and the next she was walking alongside him like he were a stranger.

'Is everything ok?'

Even though she was rushing to get out of the secluded area and back onto the main streets, it wasn't hard for Sam to keep pace with Mercedes. His long strides easily matched her short ones and once again Sam found himself shoving his hands into his pockets to keep from touching her.

'Everything's fine.'

'_Mercedes._'

'What?'

'Who was on the phone?'

'Quinn.'

'And is everything ok with Quinn?'

'Yes...' There was a pause filled with the sounds of their footfalls ringing out along the pavement. 'She just wanted to check we got here ok.'

'Then _why_ are you acting so weird?'

Mercedes stopped dead in the street and turned to look at him, and for an instant Sam thought she might _actually_ tell him what the hell was going on. Then Mercedes huffed and turned away from him again to keep walking.

'Mercedes!'

'_What?'_

Sam reached out and gently caught Mercedes' arm to stop her. She whirled around looking accusatory and upset, but just as quickly as she'd met his gaze she looked away again, and Sam_ still_ had no idea why.

'_Talk to me._'

Mercedes' gaze settled on the pavement ahead of them and she defensively shoved her hands in her pockets as she continued to avoid his eyes.

'I'm f-'

'Woman, if you lie and tell me that you're fine _one more time._' Sam shot out losing patience. 'Did Quinn say something to upset you?'

'No. She just…'

'She just _what?'_

'She's a _Quinn!' _Mercedes shot out sounding exasperated. 'She's a Quinn and I'm _not, _ok?'

Sam frowned as he tried to make sense of what Mercedes was saying, but her meaning wasn't forthcoming.

'I don't want to be your rebound.'

Sam's jaw clenched. 'Who said anything about being a rebound?' He demanded, thinking that if it were Quinn he was going to phone her _himself _to give her a piece of his mind. 'I've not been in a serious relationship with anyone for over a _year._'

'I'm your rebound from Quinn.' Mercedes pointed out, the tiredness and the shock of the situation making her weepy.

'_What?_' Sam's voice rose in disbelief as he stepped closer to Mercedes and carefully placed his hands on her shoulders. 'I promise you that's _not _what you are.'

'How can you say that, Sam?' Mercedes looked up with him, her eyes twinkling under the streetlights with unshed tears. 'You were in love with her for _eleven_ _years, _Sam. And you and I? We're _friends. _You and I are _friends _and I don't know what I was thinking kissing you like that but it was a mistake.'

'_Mercedes,'_

'It was a mistake, Sam, and it won't happen again.'

'Why?'

'Because I could fall in love with you, ok!' Mercedes looked a little ashamed of her outburst and hugged her arms to her chest. 'I probably already _am _a little bit in love with you, and I… I just realized that I can't do this halfway. I _won't _do it halfway. So either we're all in or… we _aren't_ … and I don't think you canbe all in, right now.'

'Why can't I be all in?' Sam felt the situation spinning rapidly out of his control and he was trying to contain his frustration at having no way to stop it. Lashing out at Mercedes now would only cause more damage than he could repair.

'Because of Quinn.' Mercedes reached up a hand to scrub at her eye, although no tears had fallen. 'You _know_ that, Sam… your feelings for her aren't going to just disappear, I get that, but I... I just have this _feeling _that if I give my heart to you I'm never getting it back, and I… I'm not a Quinn.'

Sam stared at the beautiful, distressed woman in his arms and tried to find the words to say to make everything ok again. They'd had that wonderful moment out by the field and now suddenly the whole thing was going to shit. It wasn't fair.

'Cede… I don't…' Sam sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. 'I don't know what to say to make you realise that you're wrong right now, but you are. You've got it wrong and I _wish _I know how to explain things, but... I don't.' he heaved another heavy sigh and tried to catch Mercedes' eyes with his own.

'But one thing I _can_ say, is that this isn't about Quinn. Honestly, it was probably _never _about Quinn, but it took me a long time to see it. You are not a rebound for me, Mercedes, you'll _never _be a rebound for me and I… _damnit, this is so hard to explain._'

Sam chewed his lip for a second before he went on, deciding to throw caution to the wind.

'I have… _feelings _for you, Mercedes Jones. A _lot _of feelings… and I want to be able to explain them to you, but I've only just begun to sort through them myself and I don't know _how_ yet.' Sam crooked a finger under Mercedes' chin and waited until she brought her eyes up to meet his before he continued. 'But if you only take one thing away from this right now, then let it be that this has _nothing _to do with Quinn, ok? I know that when we first met again I said it was, but I was wrong. It isn't. This is about you and me, ok? _Only _you and me. Nobody else.'

Mercedes bit her lip, but she nodded and didn't pull away when Sam wrapped his arms around her in a deep hug.

'It's been a long day. Why don't we go home and we'll talk about this another time when we're both feeling up to it, ok?'

Mercedes nodded again and didn't shy away when Sam put an arm around her as they walked back to her parents' house. The whole outburst had given them both a lot more to think about, and they were lost in their own thoughts as they walked back to the house.

The next day was the day of the wedding, and Kurt was at the Jones' house bright and early practically bouncing with excitement as he waited for Mercedes to open the door. When she stepped aside to let him in, Mercedes could see that the young designer was clutching several dress bags in his hands and looking far more chipper than he really had any right to after an international flight. Behind him, Mercedes could see Blaine looking more subdued than his boyfriend, but otherwise very pleased with himself as he nursed a cup of Lima Bean coffee. Mercedes thanked all her lucky stars when her bestie raised the tray in his other hand to show her the remaining cups still fixed in the cardboard.

'Kurt,' Mercedes addressed her friend politely, 'you know I love you, but Blaine has coffee, so please be so kind as to get your skinny, little butt out of my doorway so I can give you a hug and get to my caffeine.'

Kurt gave a heavy, dramatic sigh but dutifully slung the bags over the back of the couch and swept Mercedes up in a huge hug.

'You look gorgeous as per usual.' The brunette complimented, his eyes raking over Mercedes figure in her tank top and shorts. She was wearing Sam's hoodie too - he'd leant it to her during the journey over and Mercedes had fallen asleep in it after their argument the night before. She'd put it on again automatically after her shower that morning and now she found herself praying that Kurt wouldn't notice that it wasn't one from her usual rotation and mention it.

'I thought we talked about oversized hoodies a long time ago, Miss Jones.' Kurt admonished, reaching out to finger the dark green cotton with distaste wrinkling his perfectly smooth skin. 'I know I'm not here all the time to remind you, but _honestly._'

'I don't think it's hers, Handsome.' Blaine offered helpfully as he handed Mercedes her piping hot cup of coffee. She accepted it with a grateful smile and snuggled briefly into the one armed squeeze Blaine gave her. The coffee and the hug left her thinking lots of nice things about her best friend, but she _really_ would have preferred if he _hadn't _brought up that little fact.

'Then whose is it?' Kurt raised a puzzled eyebrow for a split second before the spark of realization ignited in his eyes.

'Is it Dermot Mulrooney's!'

Mercedes face contorted in confusion until Blaine leaned in to whisper, '_The Wedding Date_...' in her ear.

'_Right.' _Mercedes nodded as she took a sip of her Mint Latte. _The Wedding Date_ was one of the three's favourite films, and apparently Kurt had decided that, until he knew the real identity of the "mystery man" accompanying Mercedes to this wedding he was going to assume it was Dermot Mulrooney like the guy in the movie.

'So, is he here?' Kurt demanded excitedly. 'Do I get meet him first?'

Mercedes and Blaine exchanged a look before Mercedes shrugged.

'Sure. He's in the shower, but he'll probably be down soon.'

Kurt clapped his hands in excitement and Mercedes sipped at her coffee, butterflies springing to life in her stomach as she heard Sam start down the stairs.

'Hey Cedes, was there someone at the door?' Sam called out to her from the stairs, but it was clear from the still expectant expression on Kurt's face that he hadn't recognized Sam's voice yet.

Seconds later Sam ambled into the living room wearing a pair of loose grey sweats and a long-sleeved black t-shirt that showed off just how well he'd managed to maintain his high school figure. His hair was still wet from the shower, but he'd combed it away from his face instead of letting it fall naturally, having no patience for wet hair in his eyes.

'Oh, Blaine's here? Hey man!' Sam leaned over to slap the actor's hand in greeting before he spotted Mercedes focused intently on her coffee opposite him and out the corner of his eye Kurt with his hands pressed to his mouth.

'Oh.'

Kurt's eyes were as wide as saucers as he watched the blond Adonis greet Blaine like an old friend, and his mind was working overtime as he slotted the pieces together. Mercedes' date was Southern… Blond… a _secret_…

'Sam Evans there is no _way _that's you!'

Sam's eyes drifted over to Mercedes before returning to the slim fashionisto as he chuckled.

''Fraid so.' The doctor admitted with a sheepish grin. 'Sam I am and I don't like green eggs and ham.'

'Oh my _God. _Come here, come here, _come here!' _Kurt flung his arms out for a hug and Sam obliged, leaning down slightly to hug the shorter man.

'If I'd known it was _you _coming as Mercedes' date I would have made you the whole _suit _not just a piddly little pocket square.' Kurt complained into Sam's shoulder as they hugged. The designer tensed and slowly pulled out of Sam's arms with shock written all over his face.

'Oh my _God. _You're Mercedes _date! _Are you guys… _together _together?' Kurt looked between Sam and Mercedes and noted that the two seemed to be having a wordless conversation with each other about the answer to that question.

'_Riiight…_' Kurt clapped his hands and, sensing that he'd inadvertently stumbled into difficult territory, rapidly changed the subject.

'Blaine brought coffee!'

As if part of some kind of magic trick, Blaine himself appeared at Sam's elbow to hand the doctor a cardboard cup filled with his favourite kind of coffee. Sam accepted it gratefully.

'Thanks.'

'No problem,' The brunette smiled at the taller man before his face turned serious. 'But you know, you and Merce are going to have to figure out the answer to that question pretty soon, 'cause you'll be hearing it a lot today.'

Sam nodded as he took a sip of the fortifying caffeine and let his eyes wandered to Mercedes, as they so often did. Sam heaved a deep internal sigh as he watched her converse with the couple. They hadn't said any more about what had happened the night before, and when Sam had woken up both her parents had already left for their conference, so there was no chance of any last minute advice from Mrs. Jones either. But she was wearing his hoodie Sam noted - that had to be a good sign. His eyes took in the way the garment fit her and how the material hugged the curve of her butt… Sam bit his lip. Seeing Mercedes Jones in his clothes was _definitely _a sight he could get used to. Then he remembered her 'all in' comment from the night before and wondered if it was a sight he'd ever get the chance to see again after this trip.

Sam took another sip of his coffee and closed his eyes to his confused emotions. Today had the potential to be a total disaster, and caught himself praying fervently that it would all turn out for the best instead. He opened his eyes as Mercedes crossed in front of him to the couch and Sam added a silent prayer that things work out with her too. He'd take the disaster if he could get that.

'Ready to make an entrance?' Mercedes asked as she adjusted the square of cloth in Sam's pocket and straightened his bow tie. She looked _beautiful_. So beautiful that Sam had literally lost his breath for a minute when she'd first come down the stairs of her parents house to join them before they left. Kurt really had done a wonderful job on the dress, but it wasn't the dress that Sam couldn't keep his eyes off. It was _her._

Mercedes was _luminous_ - it was like she was lit from within by tiny, little candles and Sam kept getting distracted by the way she moved, or how her skin caught the light. Mercedes _glowed,_ and it was all Sam could do to remember that he wasn't allowed to touch or kiss her right now. They still hadn't talked about what they were, and Sam got the impression that Mercedes was trying to figure things out in her head now that things had settled down some from the night before. Sam didn't want to push her, so he'd left off reminding her that their relationship was independent of Quinn. He knew that it had to be obvious to anyone that saw him and Mercedes together that he was crazy about her, even when he was trying to hide it. Blaine had already shot Sam half a dozen knowing looks when he'd stood with his mouth hanging open in the hallway as Mercedes descended the stairs. Sam wasn't subtle, but for some reason Mercedes was still missing how serious he was about her, or maybe she just wasn't letting herself see it yet.

'Ready as I'll ever be.' Sam beamed down at the petite woman on his arm as she looped her arm through his and reached up to cover her hand with his own.

'You know you look beautiful, right?'

Mercedes smiled and dropped her gaze to the sleeve of his jacket as her face warmed.

'So you've told me.' She picked a piece of invisible lint off the spotless black jacket. 'Thank you.'

'Well it's true.' Sam insisted honestly, 'You're altogether too lovely for words.'

'_Sam_!' Mercedes blushed and swiped at Sam's arm as an embarrassed smile stretched across her face. 'Stop.'

'Fine.' Sam agreed, his eyes shining, 'But I'm going to think it _really _loud.'

Mercedes rolled her eyes in fond amusement as she and Sam stepped into the huge church where the wedding was being held. Kurt had already been there for hours as one of the groomsmen, he'd snuck out extra early to deliver and check the fit on Mercedes' dress but had had to rush back almost straight away. He'd proclaimed it 'perfection' and left Blaine with them to get themselves together before they could join him at the church later that afternoon.

'So, who is Finn marrying again?' Sam whispered quietly as they walked closer to the front of the church.

'Her name is Dariah,' Mercedes reminded him in a hushed voice. 'She's a really sweet girl, Finn lucked out with her.'

They found a couple of empty seats about seven rows back from the front and Sam waited for Mercedes to get situated before he slid into the pew next to her.

'Are you ok with this?' she asked carefully, her eyes on Sam's handsome face. 'I know it was a long time ago for Finn, but are you sure _you're _ok with being here? If you aren't we can leave. No questions asked.'

Sam took one of his hands off the polished wood of the pew in front to reach for Mercedes' hand and thread his fingers through hers. Her eyes had held nothing but sincerity and compassion when she made her suggestion, despite the weirdness between them, and it meant a lot to Sam that she would ditch the opportunity to see her friends again just for him. He shook his head, grateful for the gesture even if it was unnecessary. Truth was, it had actually taken Sam a few seconds to figure out _why_ he was supposed to have issues with Finn in the first place, so there was absolutely no question of him holding a grudge. Yeah, it had rankled Sam at first, but it had been the lying and cheating that had really pissed him off, not the loss of his relationship, and honestly, the more time he'd spent with Mercedes the less he'd cared. Plus, Sam knew that staying for the wedding would be one more way to show Mercedes that he really was over the Quinn/Finn thing and that was worth any discomfort he might feel.

'It's water under the bridge, Sweetheart.' Sam whispered warmly as more people entered the church behind them.

Mercedes tried to ignore the rush she got when Sam had called her 'Sweetheart' and clutched her purse tighter in her lap as she trained her eyes on the altar ahead. Ever since their kiss the night before, Mercedes body had bad been going haywire whenever Sam was near her. It was like her skin ached for his touch, and her fingers were dying to run through his hair again. Mercedes was running through lipgloss like a champ because she kept licking her lips, remembering what Sam's mouth had felt like on hers. The man was turning her into a mess, and that was _without _all the complicated feelings she'd been developing towards him before that.

Mercedes had lied when she said that she thought she might be a little bit in love with Sam already. She _knew _she was. She'd started falling for him during the carnival, when he'd been so wonderful with her and made her forget August's oppressive presence. He'd made her feel like she was effervescent, and she'd felt like her whole body was on fire when he'd touched her. Since then Mercedes had found herself looking forward to seeing him more, she noted her delight when they spoke and realized just how much _fun _she had when she was around him. Fun wasn't an alien concept to her, she could throw down with the rest of them, but it had definitely been a while since she'd been this… _happy._

That was why Quinn's innocent phone call had been enough to throw Mercedes off the night before. It had forced her to realize how precarious that feeling was, and how easily she could lose it. One misstep and Sam would be out of her life for good. Just like Rachel… just like _August._

Mercedes didn't want to face that fate with Sam, so she'd tried to push those feelings away, tried to push _him _away and pretend like they could never be anything, even though she was pretty sure they had the potential to be _everything_.

And Sam was making it difficult. He'd say things to her, or touch her in a certain way, and all the feelings Mercedes had been trying to force herself to forget would force their way to the surface again and threaten to drown her until she acknowledged them. She was fighting a losing battle, she knew that, but Mercedes still couldn't quite bring herself to give in either.

She snapped out of her thoughts a few long moments later when the doors to the church were closed and she saw Finn, Noah and Kurt take their places by the altar. They all looked very handsome in their black tuxedos but Mercedes still couldn't keep her attention from wandering to the man sitting beside her. Both Finn and Noah looked gorgeous, and Kurt looked elegant as usual, but if you asked Mercedes, none of them was a patch on Sam.

Mercedes stifled a groan and resisted the urge to slam her head against the back of the pew in front of her. _How had she not realized that she had it so __**bad**__?_

Finn caught her eye and she gave him a big thumbs-up that he accepted with a grin before the entrance music started and he looked like he was going to pass out instead.

Along with everyone else, Mercedes turned to the back of the church to look at the bride and she promptly forgot her own issues when Finn's fiancé Dariah walked down the aisle looking stunning. Mercedes had only met the woman a handful of times, but she knew that the calm, dark-skinned girl was the perfect match for Finn. She didn't put up with his bullshit, and she always knew how to set Finn on the right path without making him feel like an idiot. Dariah had seen through Finn's less than stellar moments to the guy frightened of failure within, and since he'd known her Finn had blossomed into a truly wonderful man. Mercedes beamed as Dariah swept past them, a vision in white lace as she accepted Finn's hand to help her to the altar.

'Wow.' Sam breathed as Finn and Dariah exchanged vows. He wasn't sure what he'd expected Finn's bride to look like - maybe an amalgam of Quinn and Rachel - but what he got was _completely_ different to what he'd expected. Of all the glee girls, the one Dariah resembled most closely was Mercedes. Although Finn's new wife was less curvy than Mercedes, she was a similar height and definitely not as skinny as Rachel or Quinn had been. She was a surprise to Sam, but when he caught sight of the way the young couple looked at each other, he knew that what the new Mr. and Mrs. Hudson had was the real deal.

Watching him up in front of all of his friends and family, Sam knew without a doubt that _this _Finn Hudson was _not_ the same one who had screwed him over in high school. Whoever that dude was, he was gone now, buried forever with the mistakes of the past.

When the wedding was over, Sam stood along with the rest of the congregation and clapped out his support for the newlyweds, his hand going into his pocket for the handkerchief he'd had a feeling Mercedes would need without looking before he handed it to her his eyes never leaving the happy couple. Mercedes accepted the scrap of cloth with a grateful sniff, dabbing at her leaking eyes as Finn and Dariah left the church to cheers and rapturous applause.

As much as they'd expected to, neither Sam nor Mercedes saw anyone from New Directions who wasn't in the wedding party until the reception. The two of them sat in the car after Sam had turned the engine off and watched as people entered the hotel where the reception was being held.

'Can I ask you a question?' Sam asked out of the blue, turning to fix Mercedes with his bright green eyes. 'What's the deal with this "Muzzy" thing? I don't think I've heard anyone call you by your real name since we got here. Y'know, other than Blaine and Kurt.'

Mercedes smiled and watched as more elegant couples entered the building headed for the wedding reception.

'When I was a baby I couldn't pronounce 'Mercedes',' she explained. 'My parents tried to get me to say 'Mercy' and I ended up with 'Muzzy'. She shrugged her smooth brown shoulders. 'It just stuck.'

Sam nodded at her explanation and the two of them continued to people watch for a few more minutes.

'Still time to back out.' Mercedes offered, swinging her eyes from the entrance to the blond in the driver's seat.

Sam reached over and linked his hand with Mercedes' on the dashboard, holding it for a moment as he watched the guests entering the hotel.

'Nope.' Sam gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it and undoing his seatbelt. 'You can't get rid of me that easy.'

'Wouldn't dream of it.' Mercedes smiled as she went to undo her own seatbelt and by the time she had it released and slid back into the cradle Sam was at her door and waiting to help her out of the car.

Her dress was gorgeous, but long, and Mercedes was glad of Sam's helping hand as she climbed out of the car. The midnight blue chiffon-y fabric at the bodice faded gradually to a plum colour at the hem and the long skirt swirled loosely around Mercedes' ankles as she walked. The whole dress was shot through with tiny hints of sparkle and glitter and Sam thought she looked like the clearest Tennessee sky at dusk. Her off the shoulder sweetheart neckline was playing havoc with his need to kiss her, too, and every time Mercedes moved Sam had to fight the urge to bend down and plant a kiss on the smooth exposed skin at her neck. He was 100% sure that Mercedes had no idea how much she was torturing him just by walking around and breathing.

Sam locked Mercedes' door and held out a hand for her as they went to head inside. He knew he was being a little bit presumptuous but he could swear his heart swelled when Mercedes slipped her cool hand into his, and he felt the unmistakable stirrings of pride in his chest as they walked hand in hand towards the ballroom. He knew it was just make-believe at the moment, but he felt ten feet tall walking in with Mercedes. He felt invincible knowing that the people who saw them would know that she was with him. He was the guy lucky enough to be holding her tonight, and he felt it.

It didn't take them long to find the New Directions table when they entered. Mercedes was met with whoops and hollers as soon as she stepped through the ballroom doors and Sam followed a little ways behind her as they made their way over to their old glee club.

'Girl, I don' know it was possible but you be bringin' a whole new _level_ of hotness to this joint.' Artie called out before making a patting motion with his hands to the rest of the group. 'Bow down, bitches. The princess is here!'

Mercedes smiled and leaned over to give her old friend a hug and Santana took the opportunity to aim a resounding smack to Mercedes' bent behind.

'Santana!' The dark haired ex-cheerleader shrugged and looked unrepentant as Mercedes straightened, her mouth still in a small 'o' of surprise.

'What?' Santana questioned, 'I'm a lawyer now, I need to find my recklessness down other avenues. Besides, it was just _there. _It was basically asking to be spanked.'

'Oh God, I missed you guys.' Tina offered with a sniffle and Mike put a comforting arm around his wife.

'Just in time for the waterworks.' Quinn said as she came up behind Tina to put her purse on the table. Carter followed behind her and helped her shrug off her coat before pulling her out a chair.

'Quinn!' The whole table erupted into cries of delighted surprise as Quinn lowered her heavily pregnant body into the chair her husband was holding for her.

'I thought you weren't coming?' Mercedes asked, feeling her stomach sink to the soles of her shoes as she leaned in to kiss her sister-in-law on the cheek.

'We decided to drive down.' Quinn offered by way of explanation, rubbing her distended belly with one hand. She was too pregnant to fly and had thought she'd be forced to miss the wedding because of it. 'But then I realized that I only get to watch Finn Hudson get married once _aaaaaand,' _She added, stretching out the word._ '_I wanted to see your plus one. I still can't believe you didn't tell me.' Quinn raised a speculative eyebrow at Mercedes and the rest of the table turned to look at her with interest.

'You brought a _plus one_?' Tina asked weepily as Santana snorted.

'I swear if you brought that August dweeb I'm going to…' she broke off in a trail of Spanish that made Mercedes feel very grateful that she wasn't with August anymore.

'No, it's um…' Mercedes licked her lips as she prepared for the big reveal. 'It's actually someone you guys already know…' she turned to look at Sam and he stepped forward, his hand coming to rest on the small of Mercedes' back as he reached the table.

'Oh my _God!' _Tina wailed and burst into a fresh wave of tears while Mike patted her back soothingly and mouthed 'Hormones' to the rest of the group.

'Trouty Mouth?' Santana's voice was incredulous as she looked Sam over. 'Damn it, I had a whole set of insults prepared for the day I'd see you again and I left it in my other purse.' The woman shook her head, looking genuinely remorseful as she stood up and gave Sam a quick hug.

Artie jovially held out a hand for Sam to shake, although he looked less than pleased with the turn of events when he caught sight of where Sam's other hand was, and Mike stood up as soon as he felt able to leave Tina to encompass his old friend in a bro hug.

Things threatened to get awkward when Quinn quietly remarked, 'Sam Evans… so _you're _Mercedes' plus one.' And ushered him forward for a stilted hug. Sam politely leaned in to kiss his ex-girlfriend's cheek and Mercedes felt her heart clench as she went to take her seat next to Blaine.

'You ok?' the brunette asked her quietly, and Mercedes shook her head, one eye still on Quinn and Sam.

'No.' Mercedes admitted honestly, her fingers trailing over her water glass. 'You were right, I was wrong, and now I'm about to get my heart stomped on by some guy who's still in love with Quinn Fabray.'

Blaine frowned.

'What guy is that? Because it's _not_ Sam.'

'_Blaine._'

'He's right.' Kurt agreed, leaning over his boyfriend's shoulder. 'The way Sam looks at Quinn is nothing _like _the way he looks at you. He looks at Quinn like she's a girl he used to know once. He looks at _you _like you're made of heaven.' Mercedes smiled tightly at her friends, but studied the blondes across the table a little more closely than she had before. Sam seemed attentive to Quinn, but no more so than he had been with Tina or Santana. Mercedes frowned into her place setting and soon felt Sam's warm hand on her back as he slid into the seat beside her.

'What's wrong?'

Mercedes flicked her sideswept bangs out of her face with a toss of her head and smiled brightly at her date.

'Nothing.'

Sam's eyes narrowed as he studied Mercedes' beautiful, lying face and leaned in close to whisper, 'You and me, remember?'

Mercedes flushed, partly at his closeness and partly because he'd caught her so easily in her lie.

'You and me.' She nodded, and for the first time she actually started to believe it a little bit.

'Where's Brittany?' Sam asked when Mercedes excused herself to go to the bathroom. He'd used the time away from her to take a quick inventory of the table and was surprised to find the former cheerleader missing.

'I'm here you guys!' Brittany tottered in on sky-high heels as if on cue and fell heavily into a chair between Carter and Sam.

'I was going to bring Lord Tubbington II as my plus one, but when I got here they said they didn't allow cats, so I had to take him back to my parents house. Now he's going to give me the silent treatment and I'm pretty sure it's discrimination anyways.'

Brittany beamed around the table at everyone and her smile grew when she caught sight of Sam.

'Oh, yay!' she clapped. 'Sam's here! You and Mercedes are so cute together!'

'Um… thanks.' Sam nodded as the rest of the table exchanged befuddled looks. 'How d'you guess I was here with Mercedes?'

'I didn't guess, silly!' Brittany bubbled out a laugh. 'You guys were _totally _into each other in high school. I knew it was just a matter of time.' The blond shrugged, completely oblivious to the buzz her announcement had caused.

'Aretha and Trouty?' Santana considered out loud and then shrugged with a slight frown on her face when Mercedes came back from the bathroom. 'I ship it.'

'In high school though?' Artie looked like he was not happy about this revelation. 'Wasn't your ass with Quinn?'

Everyone turned expectantly to look at the pregnant beauty, who coolly reached for her water glass and took a sip.

'Sam and I were never good for each other.' Quinn admitted with a shrug before placing her glass back on the table. 'I gotta be honest, I was shipping it like Fedex back in 2010.'

Santana shook her head looking bemused. 'Wanky.'

Mercedes turned automatically to Sam to get a read on how he was taking that particular revelation, but he looked completely nonplussed. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that he really didn't care that Quinn had been hoping he'd end up with another woman while they were supposed to be dating. If anything, Sam looked sort of _pleased _about it.

The dinner passed by fairly uneventfully and the old friends used the time to catch up on what they were all doing. Tina and Quinn eventually siphoning off into their own conversation when Mike and Tina had finally announced that she was expecting.

There was one touchy moment when Artie had innocently asked Sam what he was doing now and Santana had pulled a face when Sam had told them and said, 'You're a doctor? No offence, but I thought you had to be able to string two words together for that.'

The look Mercedes shot the former cheerleader was so cold it could have frozen Vodka.

'You know,_ I've_ got "_two words"_ for you, Santana...' the diva had begun and Sam had quickly sat up to whisper calming words in Mercedes' ear before she could finish her sentence. Secretly though, he'd been happy that Mercedes had almost started a fight with her old friend. Yeah, it was a little ratchet, but Sam thought it was pretty awesome that she'd been willing to go there in his defense. He didn't need her to, but it was nice that she would.

After dinner there was a series of very touching speeches and a very ribald one from Noah that got cut off before the end. (Burt ended up wrestling the mic away from him before he could finish his recounting of a particularly wild night involving Finn, three co-eds and a bottle of tequila.) Once the speeches were over everyone headed outside for photos while the ballroom was being cleared for the dance part of the evening ("I thought it was Finn's party?" Brittany had commented with a serious expression, "Shouldn't we be calling it the 'flail' part?"). While they were waiting outside the group finally had the chance to talk to Noah, and it didn't escape the notice of any of them that Sam watched the reformed bad boy like a hawk the entire time he was near Mercedes. Sam's jaw had clenched so tightly when the former prankster had kissed Mercedes' mouth and pulled her in for a tight hug that Mike later swore he'd heard the blond's teeth grinding from ten feet away.

Noah was soon called away for more photographs, but he made Mercedes promise to save him a dance before he left, pouting at her until she had laughingly agreed. Sam had been forced to smile agreeably, knowing that attempting to stop them would make him seem like the jealous asshole he felt like, while his hands clenched into fists in his pockets and he tried to imagine the best ways to keep Puck's hands of his girlfriend's ass.

His _non-_girlfriend's ass, Sam corrected himself… His _friend's _ass… Whatever. Point was, Puck was in trouble if he so much as _thought _about touching Mercedes' posterior.

None of the group got to talk to Finn or the bride until they were allowed back into the ballroom, by which point, Finn was so happy and full of alcohol that he beamed through every conversation and patted everyone heartily on the back multiple times - even Sam. Mercedes had been tensed for the meeting between the two of them, but when she'd mentioned it Sam had crooked his half-smile at her and revealed that he and Finn had actually aired their grievances during a phone call a couple of weeks before and were now fine with each other.

'He apologized.' Sam told her with a shrug. 'It's ancient history now.'

Brittany's prediction proved correct: Finn still flailed when he danced, but he made up for his lack of ability with enthusiasm, and soon the temporary dance floor was filled with wedding guests all getting down to cheesy pop hits and golden oldies. Finn had made sure that there was a lot of classic rock included on the playlist and the former glee club members could be heard a mile away whenever anything by Journey came on.

Instead of joining the other New Directions members on the dance floor, Mercedes had opted to dance with her soul sister at the edge of the room. Quinn had talked about going onto the actual dance floor but Carter had put his foot down and vetoed that suggestion as soon as she'd made it.

'I like Finn, but didn't he break some girl's nose with his dancing once?'

Quinn had avoided his gaze so Carter had turned to where Mercedes and Sam were standing nearby and included them in the conversation. 'Didn't he?'

'He did.' Sam had volunteered helpfully, earning him glares from both women.

'She's pregnant!' Sam had defended himself to Mercedes, gesturing at Quinn's protruding stomach as proof. '_Heavily _pregnant might I add. As a doctor I wouldn't feel right letting her go out there in good faith.'

'Right!' Carter had done some kind of complicated hand slapping thing that Sam seemed to know and then folded his arms looking stern. 'No dance floor.'

'But, _baby…' _Quinn had exercised every feminine wile she possessed but her husband had refused to budge, even when the beautiful blonde had pointed out that she'd danced at Glee club competitions right up to childbirth.

'Once.' Carter had pointed out, although Sam looked impressed.

'You can dance away from the crowds.' Sam had suggested, seeing the disappointed look on his ex-girlfriend's face. 'And take it easy. I mean it. You aren't sixteen anymore Quinn and we've all seen the damage a misplaced arm can do.'

'Fine.' Quinn had agreed, not wanting to risk her baby's health for anything, and then she'd insisted that Mercedes stay to dance with her.

'Then I guess that's our cue to leave.' Carter had said as he slapped a hand on Sam's shoulder and steered him towards the open bar. 'Let's let the ladies do their _thang_.'

Mercedes watched them go before turning back to her sister-in-law. 'I'm not sure how I feel about them getting along so well.' she admitted as she and Quinn danced around each other.

'Why?' Quinn asked on a giggle, 'they're going to be brothers-in-law at some point anyway.'

'_Quinn._'

'Just calling it like I see it.'

'Your vision must be shot.'

Quinn shook her head.

'It's 20/20.' She frowned and eyed her sister warily. 'You _sure _nothing happened with you two? Because Sam kinda looks like he wants to take you home and mark his territory if you catch my meaning.'

'_Lucy Quinn Jones,_ you have sex on the brain.'

'And you don't? I've seen the way you look at him, and don't even get me _started _on how you were ready to savage Santana for what she said about him.' Quinn raised an elegant eyebrow, daring Mercedes to argue.

'_Exactly_.' Quinn looked pleased with herself when the other woman didn't put up a fight. 'Tell me you've at least _kissed_ him already.'

Mercedes blushed and Quinn stopped dancing to clap her hands to her chest in obvious delight.

'Oh my gosh, you _did! _Tell me _everything. _Was he good to you?'

The blonde attempted to steer her sister-in-law over to one of the nearby tables, but she was stopped when a pair of strong arms slipped around Mercedes' waist from behind and a familiar face propped itself on her shoulder.

Mercedes lifted a hand to caress the man's cheek and turned in his arms to look at him.

'Hey, baby.'

'Hey Mama.' Noah grinned and kissed his school friend on the cheek. 'Would it be cool if I steal you for that dance now?'

Mercedes moved her gaze to Quinn. 'Rain check?'

The pregnant woman gave a long-suffering sigh and waved a hand for the two of them to go on and dance. 'But don't think you're getting out of telling me, Merce!' Quinn called out after them as Noah led Mercedes onto the dance floor.

Over by the bar, Sam was chatting casually with Carter as the two of them watched Quinn and Mercedes dancing together and giggling. The two men were just getting into a meaningful discussion about post-natal care when they spotted Noah leading Mercedes away from Quinn and onto the dance floor.

'What the fuck is this now?' Sam demanded the words falling out of his mouth before he could censor them as he folded his arms across his chest and glowered at the couple from across the room. He barely registered Carter's low chuckle until the man addressed him directly.

'May I ask why you're scowling at my sister and Noah Puckerman?'

Sam briefly acknowledged the older man before turning back to watch Noah twirling Mercedes in time to the music.

'I'm not scowling at your sister.'

'And Noah Puckerman?'

'I'm watching his hands.'

Carter laughed heartily as took another sip of his non-alcoholic drink. 'You know he has a girlfriend right?'

'Right.' Sam frowned at Noah some more before Carter's words sank in. 'Wait, _what?'_

'He's serious about her too.' Carter supplied. 'I was talking to him earlier. Her name is Lauren and the only reason she isn'there tonight is because she's working a construction job and couldn't make it.'

'She's a construction worker?'

'Contractor.'

'Wait, Lauren as in… _Lauren_ _Zizes?_' Carter nodded and Sam leaned back against the bar, awed.

'Yup. Noah says they ran into each other again on a job and they've been inseparable ever since. Then he got this gooey look in his eyes and started spouting off about fate so I zoned out.' Carter straightened and put his empty glass down. 'Point is, he's not going after my sister.'

Sam let out a sigh of relief and his glare relaxed a little bit.

'Which leads me expertly onto my next point.' Carter carried on, stepping between Sam and his view of Mercedes. 'What's the deal with you and my sister?'

Mercedes groaned when the DJ Finn and Dariah had hired started playing _Single Ladies_ by Beyonce. She knew what was coming, and she also knew that resistance was futile when Santana and Brittany each took one of her hands and dragged her over to where Dariah and the other single women in the room were waiting to toss the bouquet.

The first few weddings Mercedes had gone to out of college she'd been one of the eager ones hoping to catch the bouquet, but the disaster with August had made her a little skittish, and she wasn't as eager anymore. Mercedes made sure to stand at the back of the group while Dariah prepared to throw the flowers over her head and when Dariah went to let go and all the other women rushed forward, Mercedes took a large step back, thinking about how grateful she was that Sam wasn't there to witness her participation in this. She didn't want him to think that she was presuming anything or trying to force him into becoming something with her, and the timing really couldn't have been worse given her 'all in' comments the night before. True Sam seemed mostly indifferent towards Quinn, but Mercedes knew that that didn't necessarily mean that he wanted to get into a relationship with _her _either. The last thing she wanted was to look like one of _those _girls, desperately trying to push a man into wanting her. Either they wanted her or they didn't – Mercedes Jones did not beg.

Out the corner of her eye, Mercedes saw a flash of blond and turned to see Sam stepping back into the ballroom with Carter behind him. Mercedes winced and found herself praying that Carter hadn't done his 'scary big brother' routine with Sam. He didn't get to do it very often and Mercedes thought that her brother seemed to relish the job with a sadistic amount of glee. Although, thinking back to their conversation about Stacy and shotguns, Mercedes had a feeling Sam could handle-

A bundle fell past her face and Mercedes held out her hands instinctively to catch it. She stared dumbstruck at the bunch of flowers in her hands and wondered how on earththey had got there, hadn't Dariah tossed the thing ages ago? Maybe one of the other women had dropped them.

Mercedes looked up to see the other women who had stood up for the bouquet toss looking disappointedly at the flowers now clutched in Mercedes' hand. Turning, Mercedes' eyes met Sam's across the room and he shot her a lopsided grin before gesturing to the flowers in her hand. _So much for him missing her participation_, Mercedes thought and then gave him a palms up across the room, one hand still firmly secured around the flowers before she turned to give Dariah a gracious smile.

'I'm so glad you caught it!' Dariah came down the steps from the DJ platform and wrapped Mercedes in a white satiny hug. 'You and your boyfriend look so in love!'

Mercedes shot an involuntary look at Sam and chose not to correct Dariah's mistake, the woman seemed so happy and it was her wedding day so…

'Thanks.' Mercedes smiled warmly at the taller woman and waved the bouquet like a prize ribbon. 'Lucky me!'

Dariah gave Mercedes another delighted grin and disappeared off to chat to another guest in a cloud of Vera Wang.

'How 'bout a dance?' Sam's voice came suddenly in her ear and Mercedes jumped about a mile in the air, clutching one hand to her chest to try and still her rapidly beating heart.

'Sorry.' Sam apologized, his teeth clamped on his lip to stop his bubbled laughter escaping. 'I'm… God, I never knew you could jump that high.'

Mercedes shot him a warning glare and Sam bobbed his head in supplication, although he couldn't keep the amused smile off his face.

'So what were you talking to my brother about?' Mercedes asked as she looped her hands around her date's neck.

'Stuff.' Sam looked contrary as he wrapped his hands around Mercedes' waist and swayed with her to the music. 'Super secret guy stuff.'

Mercedes was quiet for a moment.

'He gave you the big bro talk, didn't he?'

'Yup. That's exactly what he did. Yes.'

The short woman grinned at how easily Sam had given up the truth as they continued to dance. 'Did you tell him we aren't actually together?'

Sam looked pained but he nodded. 'Yeah. He told me he'd hunt me down and make my life hell if I didn't…'

Mercedes pulled away from him suddenly and held up a finger in the universal sign for 'wait a minute'. She used her free hand to pass over the bouquet she was still holding and Sam took it obligingly, his eyes focused worriedly on her face.

Mercedes put a hand down the front of her dress and felt around for a couple of seconds before she pulled it free, her slim cell phone now clutched in her hand.

'Hello?' Mercedes pressed the phone to her ear, frowning when the readout registered an unfamiliar number, and snagged Sam's hand to pull along behind her as she left the ballroom in search of somewhere quieter.

'Hi, is that Mercedes Jones?'

The voice on the other end of the line sounded familiar, but Mercedes couldn't quite place where she'd heard it before. It was male though, and had a nice timbre to it.

'This is she.'

'Hi, Miss Jones. This is Brad Connery from Sony Records. I don't know if you remember me, you were a little indisposed at the time.'

'Oh my gosh, _yes!' _Sam raised his eyebrows at Mercedes outburst but she was too busy talking to the man on the other end of the phone to fill him in. She clutched his hand tighter as she went on.

'Yes, Mr. Connery, I wanted to thank you for helping me the other night. I cannot thank you enough.'

'_Mr Connery?' _Sam mouthed looking like Christmas had come early at the same time the voice on the other end of the phone said, 'Please, call me Brad. I don't let just anyone bleed on me, you know. I feel like we're past that awkward last name stage.'

'Right.' Mercedes flushed with remembered embarrassment. 'I really am sorry about that.'

'Don't worry about it. Are you ok to talk?' Brad asked belatedly, the sounds of the party reaching him through Mercedes' phone. 'I can call back…'

'No!' Mercedes cleared her throat and started again in a calmer voice. 'No, it's fine. What can I help you with?'

'Oh, ok! Well, we were actually hoping you'd be able to come in and discuss the possibility of us working together.' Brad explained suddenly coming over all formal and Mercedes blinked into the handset. 'You want me to be a scout?'

Sam looked even more confused next to her but Mercedes was intent on her phone conversation. 'No, Mercedes.' Brad laughed, a clear, genuine laugh. 'We want to talk about you possibly signing with us.'

All external sound seemed to fade away until all Mercedes could hear was the rushing of her own blood in her ears and the steady pumping of her heartbeat. She was pretty sure she'd be on the floor right now if it weren't for Sam's strong arms around her, propping her up.

'You want me to…' Mercedes swallowed. 'I'm sorry can you say that again?'

'We want to sign you, Mercedes.' Brad said slowly and she felt the lump beginning to form in the back of her throat.

'O…ok.'

'Yeah?' Brad sounded delighted. 'Awesome! Listen, can you come in for a meeting say… next Friday at 2pm? You know where our offices are, right?'

Mercedes nodded numbly into the phone for a good half a minute before Brad's voice made her realize that she hadn't actually said anything out loud. 'Yeah… I mean, Yes. _Yes. _That sounds great. Thanks, Brad.'

In his office Brad smiled at Mercedes enthusiasm and took off his glasses to rub at his eyes.

'Wonderful. Well, when you get here just ask for me, and if you have any trouble you can get me back on this line, ok?'

'Ok.'

'Great.' Brad beamed. 'Well, I look forward to seeing you again, Mercedes. Hopefully we'll be working together a lot in the future.'

Mercedes tried to answer, but only managed an affirmative sounding mumble before Brad said goodbye and hung up.

Sam looked down at Mercedes' dazed face and forced himself to resist the urge to give her a check up, even after a full minute had passed and she hadn't done anything but blink into the middle distance.

'Mercedes?' Sam prompted without luck, '_Sweetheart?'_

His date turned her head to look at him slowly, but her mouth hovered speechlessly open as she stared up at him.

'Who was on the phone, baby?'

Sam didn't know where all these endearments were coming from. Mercedes would probably have had something to say about them if she'd been lucid, but at the moment she didn't seem to be.

'That was Sony, Sam.' Mercedes said in a voice not much louder than a whisper. 'That was _Sony._'

Sam scanned her face trying to infer the significance of that before it dawned on him.

'_SONY_, Sony?'

Mercedes nodded, the shock beginning to wear off as the reality of what had just happened began to sink in.

'Sam, that was _Sony!'_ Mercedes flung her arms around him and he felt her laughing against his chest. Sam wrapped his arms around the small woman and lifted her off the ground as he shared her joy.

'You're going to be a _star, _Miss Jo-'

The sudden presence of Mercedes' mouth on his stopped Sam from completing his sentence, and he closed his eyes and fell into the feeling of her lips moving against his in a giddy mix of excitement and heat. Sam felt the soft press of her body against his and the insistent pressure of her mouth against his and felt like the top of his head was about to shoot off.

'Sorry.' Mercedes apologized delightedly as she broke away from him and rocked back on her heels.

'No… 'pologise... ' Sam murmured as Mercedes reached up to wipe her lipstick off his mouth.

Mercedes gently prized the flowers out of Sam's hand while Sam was still getting his bearings and slid her hand in their place to lead him back into the ballroom.

'There they are!'

Twelve pairs of eyes turned on the non-couple as soon as they stepped back into the ballroom, and their slightly intoxicated friends wasted no time in whooping and hollering at them, a few of them even making a few racy jokes at their expense.

Noah slapped Sam on the back and Sam caught the alcohol on the architect's breath.

'_Nice_, man.' Noah congratulated earnestly before his face turned dangerous. 'You hurt her and I'll kill you in your sleep.'

'You know catching the bouquet indicates a wedding, not baby-making, right?' Mike asked seriously.

'You guys ran out of here pretty quick,' Artie said, wheeling his chair over to the two of them, 'we thought something might be wrong.'

'Or very right!' Quinn squealed and Blaine turned around to high-five her.

Artie leaned forward to take Mercedes' hand. 'I'd also like to remind you that I proposed to you when we were five.' The former AV geek turned hotshot director addressed Mercedes before turning to give the rest of the group a cocky look. 'That's right, I got seniority. Deal with it, yo!_'_

Mercedes rolled her eyes at Artie's tomfoolery and unconsciously leaned into Sam's shoulder, her hand still joined with his.

'First off,' she began, addressing the group. 'Nothing was wrong. Second, we didn't have sex, and third, I'm pretty sure that proposal was nullified when you "married" Hannah Mitchum the following week, Artie.' Mercedes reminded her old friend who made an exaggeratedly crestfallen face and pretended to roll away with his head bowed.

'The rejection! It hoyts, it hoyts! It boyns!'

'Whatever, "America's newest playboy".' Tina laughed, referencing the article that had been published in People magazine a few weeks prior. It turned out that Artie was not only making a name for himself with his stylish music videos, but also with the parade of supermodels and beauties that he had on his arm every week.

Artie frowned and made a shooing motion with his hand. 'It could have been true love!'

'Doubtful.' Kurt put in, eyeing up Mercedes and Sam, who had stopped listening to the group and were now whispering excitedly to each other.

'I think she may already have that covered.'

After everyone had splintered off again, Sam grabbed Mercedes' hand and tugged her gently towards the dance floor.

'You owe me my dance, Sweetheart.' The word fell off his tongue easily, as it had done all night, and Sam waited for Mercedes to say something about it, but to his surprise she didn't seem to mind. She just beamed at him and followed him out onto the dance floor.

'What is this?' Sam asked as the next song started, a slow, sexy number that sounded vaguely familiar.

'It's an old mash-up.' Mercedes explained as Sam's hands settled with reassuring weight on her waist. 'Tears for Fears and Kings of Leon.'

'Right.' Sam nodded and listened to pick the songs apart, moments later the doctor found himself growing hot as the sultry lyrics and beat conspired with Mercedes' pliant curves pressed against his body to undo him.

Mercedes was doing this slow roll thing with her hips against him, and the Kings were singing about sex and _heat _and Sam knew that he'd have to get out of here pretty soon or risk ending up with a very embarrassing situation on his hands.

Mercedes wasn't sure dancing to this song with Sam was such a good idea. She'd forgotten how sexy this song was, and now all she could think about was how hard and steady Sam felt against her, and how _good_ his kisses had felt, and how his hands splayed over the bare skin at her back and…

Mercedes blushed when she realized that she was turning herself on. Her skin felt flushed and hot and she wondering if Sam could feel it. She wasn't sure how he could avoid it when she felt like a friggin' inferno.

By the end of the song, their nerves were both shot and tiny trembles were chasing each other through Mercedes' body as they pulled apart. There was a long, dark, breathless moment when their eyes met again and then Sam thought _fuck it, _and crushed his lips to Mercedes' right there on the dance floor.

Mercedes melted under his hands, and Sam felt her soft whimpers reverberating against his tongue, imploring him to deepen the kiss and he was only too happy to oblige. His large hand grazed Mercedes' ribs and she shivered against him before wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck, her nails scraping at his scalp in such exquisite torture that Sam completely fell to pieces. His senses were filled with nothing but Mercedes, she was all he could taste and smell and feel and _think _about. The rush he got from being with her drowned out all other sounds of the reception, and Sam lost all awareness of everyone and every_thing_ else but her as he pulled her tighter to him.

Sam tried to ignore the person prodding his shoulder, but they kept increasing the pressure until he was forced to take notice. He tried to wave whoever they were away without breaking from Mercedes, but whoever they were persistent as _hell_.

'_What?_' Sam demanded, annoyed as he pulled away from Mercedes. He pulled her a little closer just in case she was entertaining any thoughts that they were in any way done or the prodder had any ideas about cutting in.

'I was trying to ask you guys if you wanna borrow my hotel room.' Noah explained when Sam finally turned to him, his eyes carefully averted, 'because you guys are getting a little X-rated over here, and that's coming from _me_.'

Sam looked back at Mercedes' kiss swollen lips and took in her stunned expression, she looked about as blissed out as Sam felt.

'You wanna get out of here?'

Mercedes bit her lip, the swollen flesh sucked into her hot, sweet mouth and Sam's vision went hazy. His lips were already grazing hers before Noah pulled him back.

'You want the room or not?'

Sam quirked an enquiring eyebrow at Mercedes, who paused in thought for a moment and then shook her head.

'No, let's just go.'

She took in the way Sam's eyes widened at her words and tried to still the rapid beating of her heart. It was possible that she was about to make a mistake, but it didn't feel like it. It felt like she was doing exactly what she was meant to be doing.

'You sure?' Sam's eyes were serious on hers as he looked down at her, and she knew that there was no pressure on his side, he'd back off if she asked him to.

'Yeah…' Mercedes nodded and gripped Sam's hand a little more insistently. 'Let's go.'

It took them about ten minutes to say goodbye to everyone, most of whom had some kind of smutty remark about the two of them ducking out early, which neither of them bothered denying. Despite that, the ride back to the house was strangely subdued, although Sam held his hand out as soon as they were both buckled in for Mercedes to take, and she'd slipped her hand into his easily and held it the whole way back.

They stopped once, when Sam had run into a convenience store and come out holding a brown paper bag that he put on the backseat before driving the rest of the way to the house.

'You didn't want to tell people about the Sony thing?' Sam asked once Mercedes had unlocked the door and they were standing in the front hallway looking at each other, suddenly feeling all the nerves that had been absent on the ride over.

Mercedes shook her head, her eyes trained on the rug covered hardwood floors of the hallway. 'No.'

Sam nodded, figuring that she would have her reasons but refusing to let the moment go unmarked.

'Well, we should celebrate.' He announced, holding the paper bag up for her to see. 'Why don't you…um… why don't you head on upstairs and I'll join you in a minute, ok?'

Mercedes swallowed and nodded again, her hand gripping the wooden railing as she made her way up the stairs, sparing frequent backwards glances at Sam as she went.

When she came out of the bathroom in her underwear after taking off and hanging up her dress, Mercedes found Sam lying on the bed in his boxers holding two flutes of champagne. He looked a little shell-shocked when he saw her, and he didn't say anything until he felt the bed dip underneath him as Mercedes climbed on next to him.

'You look… _wow.'_ Sam swallowed, his mouth dry as he handed her one of the flutes and tried not to stare. She was wearing some kind of lacy, strapless corseted thing in midnight blue that made her look delicious and expensive. Sam tried not to let his hands shake as his mind turned instantly to the thought of unwrapping her. The corset was nice to look at, but Sam had a feeling she'd look better out of it.

'Thanks, Starsailor.' Mercedes smiled shyly as she took the glass from Sam's slightly trembling hands, their fingers brushing clumsily as they tried not to stare at each other.

'It's been a while since you called me that.' Sam smiled, relaxing at her use of her old nickname for him.

'You don't like it?'

'No, I love it.' His eyes shone in the pale moonlight streaming in through the window as he looked at her. '_I love_…'

Sam stopped himself from saying what he wanted to say at the last minute, instead he dropped his gaze to watch the bubbles rising and bursting in his champagne. 'I love it.'

He scooted closer to her to clink her glass to his and felt Mercedes' tentative hand on his thigh like a brand. _God, she felt amazing._

'Congratulations, Mizz Jones.' Sam raised his glass to hers in a toast as he tried to keep himself in check. He didn't want to rush her, no matter how turned on he was getting.

'Thank you, Dr. Evans.' Mercedes' voice was low and sultry in the still silence and Sam felt a stirring in his lower abdomen as he watched Mercedes lean into him as if in slow motion and gently press her pillowy lips against his in a leisurely, sweet kiss.

Mercedes free hand trailed up Sam's bare chest leaving a trail of fire in her wake as she pulled back, and Mercedes' gaze went to her hand on his chest instead of meeting his gaze and acknowledging their shared arousal.

'You have a tattoo?' Mercedes asked in genuine surprise, noting the dark lines against the pale skin under her fingers. She peered in see the design etched above his heart and Sam felt his abs tense at the feel of her breath on his skin.

Small fingers traced the circular star chart and traced the sentence stenciled over it. Words that Sam knew off by heart and had long since learned to live by.

'Are these words?' Mercedes pushed Sam gently back against the headboard before leaning over him to flick on the bedside lamp to let her see more clearly.

She followed the words through the centre of the chart with her finger as she read:

'The true beauty of the night sky could be the constellations we never see.'

Sam's hand came up to cover hers on his chest as Mercedes sat back on her heels in shock.

'You have a way with words, Mizz Jones.'

'I wrote that.' Mercedes said quietly, her eyes still on the tattoo.

'I told you your letter was important to me.' Sam justified gently as Mercedes pulled her hand out from under his to press it against her mouth.

'I _know, _but… Sam, you got words _I _wrote tattooed on your skin.' She met his eyes for the first time since she'd noticed his ink and when she spoke again her voice was a hushed whisper. 'I thought you _hated _me?'

Sam smiled wryly, his peridot eyes locked on Mercedes' brown ones.

'It wasn't hate, it just took me a while to realise that.'

Mercedes nodded numbly as she tentatively reached out to touch his tattoo again. She placed her palm on the tattoo, covering Sam's heart.

'When did you get this?'

Sam's hands lingered on the smooth skin of Mercedes bare arms, and he slid both hands along them to pull her against his chest.

'Nine years ago.'

'Nine _years?'_

'After my first year of my undergrad degree.' Sam explained, shifting his head for a better view of the woman against his chest. 'I couldn't let you go.'

'I couldn't let you go either.' Mercedes whispered, just as quietly, her hand stroking along his chest as she held on to him. 'I tried. I didn't love you then, but I would look for you on every street corner. Just in case.' She smiled and pressed a kiss to the centre of his star chart.

'I still stand by it you know.' She told him, her tone contemplative. 'I still see all this… _light _in you, and it's so much brighter than we ever gave you credit for.'

'You saw it.' Sam gently took the champagne flute out of Mercedes' hand and placed it on the bedside table next to his own. His mind was replaying her words over and over again '_I didn't love you __**then.'**_

'_You_ believed in me.'

He wrapped one arm around Mercedes' corseted waist and pulled her onto his lap, guiding her legs either side of him until she was straddling him, her round ass nestled comfortably on his thighs.

'You know, if you listen in at the right frequency you can hear the stars singing?' Mercedes sighed as Sam kissed trails of kisses along her neck and collarbone as she spoke. 'I could hear you.' She leaned back to cup his face between both her hands. 'I could _always _hear you.'

They blinked at each other for a second as Mercedes' words hung in the air and sculpted the landscape between them. The moment grew and became something much more as Sam tipped her onto the bed beneath him and settled between her legs. This wasn't about lust anymore, about relieving the months of sexual tension that had stretched between them. Now it was about expressing something else, something deeper that neither had dared say out loud. It had been there so long between them, been there since high school and survived the years of separation that followed. It would weather the seasons and years that had yet to come and would still be there when their bodies were nothing but ash and clay in the ground. It was love, and they were in it.

To their surprise, Mercedes said it first, sighing it into Sam's hair as he slid into her and whispered endearments against her skin as he moved against her. He said it afterwards, lying against the comforting warmth of her as her soft, satisfied breaths gusted in and out against his chest. There was an unspoken agreement that they would stop fighting the inevitable, no matter how hard they had tried to fight against it, they had been pulled back to one another.

Afterwards, they laughed at the irony of them consummating their relationship in the bed Mercedes had slept in in high school. It seemed an oddly fitting conclusion to the dance they'd been doing around each other since then.

'I love you.'

Mercedes linked her fingers through Sam's as they lay together on her bed and propped her chin on his chest to look at him. Sam smirked at her from his position propped up against the headboard.

'I know.'

Mercedes let go of his hand to smack him across the chest and he winced at the non-existent sting.

'I can't believe you Star Wars-ed me!' Mercedes straddled him and whomped him with one of the many decorative cushions on her bed. 'You are _not _Han Solo, Sam Evans!'

Sam chuckled and caught her wrist before she could hit him again, rolling her over so she was pinned underneath him.

'I'm cooler than Han Solo.' He bragged, dipping his head to nip at the exposed skin of her neck. 'And…'

He placed another series of nips along her collarbone and dipped his head further to place a kiss above her heart.

'I love you too.'

* * *

><p>Catcher slammed the chronicle shut and waved away the resulting dust with his other hand. He shoved the chronicle away from him and leaned back in his chair, his arms folded as tried to erase those last images from his mind. The thought of Her joining with <em>him<em> in… _that way _made Catcher feel sick. He couldn't understand where things had gone wrong, Sam had spent eleven years fostering negative feelings towards Her. _Eleven YEARS. _How could that have been so easily erased in one meeting? _How? _The two of them didn't even wait that long to get engaged after that, just six months. One meeting and everything Catcher had worked so hard to create was undone in the blink of an eye.

Catcher wondered if maybe he'd missed something. It just didn't make sense. It didn't. _He _should have yelled at Her, and then She was meant to hate _him _and they'd both ride off into their separate sunsets never to see each other again. It was a foolproof plan!

The Chronicler sighed and looked down at the two chronicles in front of him. They were both looking a little worse for wear, and Catcher made plans to neaten them up before he put them back. Although his mind was still whirring with all the possibilities there had been for his plan to succeed. So many ways he could have been rid of _him _forever, and yet none of them had worked. _None._

Catcher frowned and piled the two chronicles on top of each other to put them away before another thought occurred to him. The Chronicler sat down carefully and slid the chronicles back on the table in front of him, carefully unwrote the last alterations in both books before he pulled Sam's back towards him again and began to write.

He had another idea.

* * *

><p>Phew! And a virtual high-five to you for reading through all of that! I'm sorry if you hated it, but after I'd written it all I just couldn't bear to give up on it. Honestly though, I sincerely doubt the next chapter will be anything <em>near <em>this long, so please stick it out! That should also mean that I'll be able to write it faster although I know it doesn't always work that way. Anyway, **thanks for reading, alerting, subscribing, reviewing (I love reading those!) etc.** They make my day, and make spending so much time writing feel even more worth it! Fingers crossed you enjoy the chapter. Til next time!


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